Speak
by Holywoodunderfed
Summary: (Set in an AU) Max and Warren are best friends. But recently, each of them find that they may have stronger feelings than friendship for each other. But with Brooke coming for Warren, and a new student with an eye for Max, will they ever be able to tell each other how they feel? (An attempt at a slower paced Grahamfield story. Will have Amberprice too). Book 1 of 3.
1. Prologue: Brand New World

In an alternate reality, some things stay the same, but some things change.

Max and Chloe still became childhood friends. Their close friendship rivaled that of most sisters. Then, unexpectedly, William Price was involved in a brutal car accident. Not long after his accident, Max was forced to move with her family to Seattle for her father's job. Sadly, the two friends lost contact.

Chloe dealt with abandonment issues. Which took part in developing her rebellious, outspoken personality. Her mother, after some time, moved on. In some ways, she moved on beyond her daughter. She even met someone new. A former soldier in David Madsen.

Now with a misunderstanding, mustachioed adult figure in her life, Chloe felt trapped. Her grades went down the toilet, and so did her attitude. This combination gets her booted from prestigious Blackwell Acadamy. But on her way out, someone unexpected came into her life. A charismatic, straight A student named Rachel Amber.

Some things say the same, however. Rachel learns that there are secrets within her own family. Both teenagers learn lessons of truth and trust as Rachel learns that her mother is not truly her mother. Through Chloe, mother and daughter meet for the first time in a tearful moment. From then on, they form a untearable bond.

As with life, when we are at our happiest, that's when tragedy strikes. Sera unexpectedly relapses and dies after an accidental overdose.

Still, among the tragedy, there is hope for the future. Rachel's performance in _the Tempest_ earns opportunities in the young girl's life. She starts a young career in modeling and stage acting, but still finds time for Chloe.

She mourns, but she's grateful to have such a great friend, and girlfriend by her side.

They have their problems, as all couples do. They even broke up for a short time, with Rachel having a short fling with Frank. Eventually they reconciled. After Rachel turned 18, the two had started living together. Chloe had started becoming a tattoo artist while Rachel makes her money through modeling. Rachel decides to enroll for a specialized program in Blackwell. This program allows graduating seniors to enroll for one more year in pursuit of the arts. A better art program, of course, is introduced. Spearheading the new art campaign, is the innovative, world famous photographer, Markus Jefferson.

Like most timelines, Markus is a charismatic and creative gentlemen with a knack for teaching and keeping in touch with the younger generation. He is mostly known for his excercise in "dark photography". He describes "dark photography" like this:

"Dark Photography is the anti-thesis of photography. When most people think of photography, they think of beauty. Whether it be landscapes, architectures, or people, the general population pictures (pun intended) photography by a standard of beauty.

My photography challenges this sentiment. What I do is, I try to capture the 'ugliest' parts of human life. Desperation, fragility, hopelessness and other human emotions that we try to ignore. I see a beauty in these emotions. I understand why some may worry that a majority of my models are female, but I find women are much more expressionable with their emotions. That being said, one of my favorite subjects was Dylan Brooks. Take what you believe."

Getting his start in as an editor of an art magazine, Markus became more widely known in his photographic work in blockbusters _They Sleep, Swingset Stabbers,_ and _Mark the Grave._ This success helped push Markus to be named Peoples' 2011 Sexiest Man Alive. All this attention felt overbearing to the 37 year old photographer. He decided to lead a more private life. He reached out to Blackwell Acadamy, an institution he attended as a teenager, to be brought to their new photography program.

Unlike other timelines, Markus is entirely devoted to his work while keeping healthy and safe relationships with his students.. He arrives precisely at 6:30 a.m. and does not leave until 7-8 p.m. He is well known for keeping all his work at the school. In fact, the school renovated to suit his new Dark Room. He is also well known for a friendly, yet strictly professional approach.

He still does photography from time to time. He still shoots his "dark photography". However, he records all his sessions and sends them to the Board of Directors and Principal Wells to ensure that not only is the new rennovations and technology being put to good use, that every model brought to these shoots are enjoying a safe and stable working environment.

Recently, Markus has brought on an apprentice named Nathanial Prescott. Markus has gone on record in saying that, despite his mental health issues, that Nathan has a "gift" for "dark photography". He and Nathan safetly work with models to produce more "dark photography". Mixed with regular photography too.

In speaking of Nathan, his personality is mostly similar across most timelines. Although, there is a major difference. When he was a freshman, Nathan unintentionally hurt his close friend, Samantha. From then on, he promised to get help. His relationship as a protege to Markus Jefferson has been nothing short of positive for the young man.

It took them a while, but they finally managed to get Rachel to be a model. It became a success.

After the school year, Rachel and Chloe want to move away. Preferably to New York, or even LA, but the two realize that after Rachel is done at Blackwell, there is nothing left for them in Arcadia Bay. Especially if Max was never coming back. She would be 18 by now…

Like all timelines, Max becomes inspired by Markus Jefferson. She enrolls in the Arcadia Bay Artist Outreach Program spearheaded by Markus. He actually hand picked Max to be a part of the program. She was given a full ride to participate, which, the shy hipster gratefully took.

Like most timelines, still, she avoided reuniting with Chloe. Mostly, this was due to guilt. But without a shooting to force her to reuinite and reconcile with Chloe, how did it happen?

On her first day, she met her two best Blackwell friends, Kate and Warren.

Kate is still the cute, church going girl. She's kind and sensitive with a good heart. In this timeline, there is no video to lead the girl down a depressing spell.

Strangely enough, the most consistent of all the timelines is Warren Graham. He is still a kind-hearted and good natured young man. While still socially awkward and still a nerd, he and Max foster a very close friendship very fast. Warren becomes aware of his feelings sooner rather than later, while Max remains mostly oblivious. Although, she finds herself trusting Warren with all her heart. She becomes protective of him and slowly becomes aware of her own growing feelings.

But certain developments stop her from coming into touch with those feelings. Rachel and Chloe had taken a late vacation over the summer and Rachel had gotten permission to start school a month late. One of her classes was Mr. Jefferson's class, for obvious reasons. During roll call, she heard the new student's name, Max Caulfield.

Rachel had not realized who it was right away, but the newbie seemed familiar. She introduced herself. After Max described she moved from Seattle, the puzzle pieces connected.

The next day, Chloe had found her former best friend and interrogated her. It took awhile, but eventually they reconcile. The three become fast friends, even if Max sometimes feels like a third-wheel.

Between homework, photography and friends, life had been pretty busy for the photography student. Too busy, in fact, to concentrate on any developing feelings.

Warren isn't as busy as her. Yeah, he's a straight A student, but most of his time is spent on video games, movies, and his chem set. Sometimes, he hangs out with Brooke, or Alyssa. More often then not, it's Brooke that gets his attention. Unlike other timelines, he was too shy to admit his developing feelings for Max.

Recently Max introduced him and Kate to her other friends, Chloe and Rachel. They both thought they were pretty punk rock and they enjoyed hanging out with them at their apartment. But Warren envied Chloe and Rachel's ease with each other. Kate asked them how they got together, and Warren wished he had the courage to speak up like Chloe did in the junkyard. Strangely enough, during their story, Max refused to look at him.

As if time ran like the Flash on steroids, Christmas was vastly approaching. Kate had aleady given Max and Warren their gifts before going back home to her parents, while Max's parents planned on coming down from Seattle to spend Christmas at Joyce and David's. Chloe and Rachel as well of course.

Warren planned to go back home as well. His family lived three towns over, and he managed to convince his folks to let him stay at Blackwell til the morning of Christmas Day. He would stay at home until they returned in January.

The reason for staying? He wanted to give his gift to Max personally. They were planning on her coming to his dorm room so they could exchange and maybe watch some movies. It had been some time, especially since they had to study for finals, that they had hung out alone. Both of them were looking forward to this occasion, for more than one reason.

So on Christmas Eve, this is where our story begins...


	2. I: Giving and Taking

**December 24th, 2013**

 **6:45 p.m.**

Max took a deep breath when she approached his door. She wasn't sure why, but she felt a bundle of nerves. What if he didn't like her Christmas present? It was truly heartfelt. What if he rejected it?

She was being silly. It was Warren after all. He was like her best friend, right? If she got him Juicy Fruit he would still like it.

Shoving her insecurities aside, she gently knocked on his door.

On the other side, Warren himself was a jumble of nerves. He was trying to watch the Matrix, but he couldn't pay attention. He felt his leg jiggle like the month old Jello still in his mini-fridge. Yet he couldn't stop thinking about Max coming over. What if she didn't like his gift? It took him forever to pick out something, so he settled for something a little more hand made. What if she thought it looked like a dumpster fire?

Still, Max was way too nice not to accept it. She wouldn't, like, throw it out the window in disgust right?

Well he hoped not.

He heard a soft knock on his door and he nearly jumped 10 feet in the air. He took a shaky breath and said, "Come in!" He hoped she didn't hear the squeak in his voice. Damn, he hated puberty.

Slowly, the door opened to reveal his friend. She still had her black winter coat on with blue jeans on her legs. She wore her grey converse and she wore a Santa hat on her head. She had decided to grow her hair out, it just barely touched her shoulders. He couldn't help but notice how cute she was. Even more so when she took the winter coat off to reveal a peach colored sweater.

"Sorry if it's too hot in here, Max," he apologized.

"No, it's okay, Warren," she replied. She bit her lip when she noticed how adorable he looked. He was wearing a grey t-shirt with a USB symbol on the front. He had on a white long-sleeve underneath, with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. He wore casual blue jeans and black shoes. He too had his hair tousled under his own Santa hat. However, his was black with a Harry Potter logo on the front.

"I just hate wearing that thing." She looked over to his TV. She noticed he was already watching a movie. She smiled teasingly at him. "Starting without me?"

He looked from the TV and back to her. "No!" he protested. "I was just semi-watching the Matrix until you came. Speaking of which, you're early!" He pointed at her accusingly.

She held up her hands in defeat. "I surrender, Sir Warren. I must confess that I am, indeed, early. Buuuuttt," she drug out her but (the word not the body part) and sat down on the bed beside him at a friendly distance. "I couldn't help myself. I'm too excited to give you your gift."

She smiled at him, a smile that he returned. "Well, we might as well start the exchange!" Warren exclaimed. "You can start."

Max shook her head. "No, no. You start. Unless… you didn't actually get me anything... " her voice dripped into a teasing tone.

Warren didn't take the bait. "Nuh-uh, Holden Caulfield. I believe the saying is, 'ladies first'".

"But-"

"Age before beauty!" he interrupted with a smirk.

"Fine!"

She pouted, but, true to her word, she dug in her handy photography bag and produced a photo. With her hand shaking slightly, she handed the photograph to her friend.

Warren took the gift gratefully. He examined it with a grin on his face, and with vermilion on his cheeks. The photo was taken at Dana's Halloween party earlier that year. The two had gone together. Max had wore a TARDIS dress while Warren had gone as his favorite doctor, David Tennant. The two looked genuinely happy.

"Awe thank you. This is for me to have?"

"Of course." She couldn't help but grin at his smile. She was just so glad he liked it. She hoped he would look at it and remember her while he was at home.

"It's funny you got me a photo," he noted out loud as he dug under his bed. He pulled out a wrapped present. It was white with apes all over it.

"Seriously?" she said, cocking an eyebrow. "Apes?"

"What? They are noble, majestic creatures."

She rolled her eyes and smirked at his jibe. She carefully unwrapped his present. She wasn't sure what it was until he explained.

"It's a scrapbook, photo journal thingy."

So it was. It was maginficent too. The sky blue with doe and blue butterflies decorating it. "This is amazing," Max whispered. When she opened it, she found it empty. It only excited her. Now she had to take photos to fill the spaces.

"I'm glad you like it," he replied. He bashfully scratched the back of his head. "I made it myself."

"You really outdid yourself." She had not planned on it, but she felt herself hugging him.

He was hesitant, but she hoped that was mostly due to being surprised. Still, she felt his arms go around her small body. He was warm. And he smelled nice.

Warren hoped she couldn't feel his heart racing. That would be embarrassing.

"Hey," she whispered. She slid out of his grasp. She liked hugging him. She for some reason didn't want to stop, but she had thought of a better idea. "You want to be in the first photo I put in the scrapbook?"

Warren secretly had not wanted to seperate either. Although, he was also giddy at the prospect of being the first in her scrapbook. He tried to play it cool, he didn't want to seem overeager. Like usual.

"Sure!" God, he could hear the eagerness in his voice.

Max smiled warmly anyway. She dug her instant camera out of her bag. She lifted it up at an angle and felt Warren's arm go around her shoulders. She managed to repress the blush that tried to fight its way to her cheeks. "Smile," said Warren.

"Action."

She took the photo. Warren didn't take his arm off of her as she took the photo and shook it.

But she didn't mind.

The two took a gander at the new photo. It actually was really well done. It instantly became her favorite photo.

"Wow, Max. I know I've said it before, but you're really talented."

"Thanks, Warren," she modestly replied. She felt embarrassed, but in a good way.

Warren swallowed the lump in his throat. It was time to take a chance. Thankfully, her attention was still focused on the photo, if she were looking at him, he wouldn't have the guts. "You really look beautiful."

Max was surprised. She never expected him to be so open. She wasn't sure if he was telling the entire truth. She was wearing the most casual clothes ever. She barely put on make up before she came. Was he just being nice?

"You really think so?" she muttered.

"I-I do." God he wished he voice was more manly.

"J-jeez," she looked at him and he looked back. They both smiled slightly. Each of them could feel something in the air. The only thing they weren't sure of, is if the other could feel it.

 _knock knock_

Both teens flinched at the tiny sound. Who would be knocking at Warren's door? Justin and Trevor didn't care what he did.

"Uh, come in." He watched the door open as Max tucked her photo into her new scrapbook. But Max turned in time to catch a glimpse of the newcomer.

Neither of them knew the girl that opened the door slowly. She was of average height of around 5'6 or 5'7, but that was the most average she looked to be. In a word, she was stunning. She had wavy brown hair that was pulled up in twin buns on either side of her head, the rest of said hair falling over her right eye. Her eyes were a deep brown and freckles danced over her smooth, tan skin. She wore a red Christmas sweater with green Christmas tree and reindeer design on the front. She wore a black choker on her neck and a pair of black skinny jeans. On her feet, she wore black boots.

"Am I interrupting something?" The girl had an accent that neither of them could trace. It sounded sort of like Austrailian but with a softer dialect. The girl's voice even sounded gorgeous. Her eyes scanned Warren and Max, but they seemed to settle on Max for just a little longer than Warren.

"Nothing," Warren was the first to reply, "Just exchanging gifts."

"Cool," the girl replied. Her voice and smile she gave made it sound like she legitimately thought the two exchanging gifts was cool. "Sorry to barge in, my name's Dakota. Dakota Reynolds. You guys are Max and Warren right?"

After confirming they are indeed Max and Warren, Max asked, "How do you know us? Are we that popular?"

Dakota laughed. "I'm not even sure who is popular yet! I just moved here yesterday. Your friend, Rachel, helped me move yesterday. We exchanged numbers and shit, she introduced me to her girlfriend Chloe. Long story short, would you guys like to come to a Christmas party?"

Warren and Max looked at each other. "Right now?" he asked.

"Hell yeah! Chloe stole her step-dad's key and we're all over at the pool. I had to get you guys last cause _somebody,"_ she shot a playful look at Max, "wasn't at their dorm room. All the other guys and girls are already at the pool. Oh, which reminds me," she grabbed a bag that was laying on the floor beside where she was standing.

"Chloe gave me this to gave to you. Apparently you two are her best friends. I volunteered to get you guys so I can meet you myself."

She tossed the bag at Max's feet. This girl, Dakota, had the habit of making everything she said sound like the most interesting thing in the world. She talked so excitedly that the both of them were sure that if she narrated a documentary of grass growing, she would find a way to make it entertaining.

Max opened the bag to find a two piece. It was black and Max knew it was her size. She must have left it at Chloe's when they last swum in September. She snuck a glance at Warren. Dog, he had never seen her in a bikini. Would he like it? Or would he hate her body? Would he find her ugly?

"You guys are using the pool?" Warren asked dumbly.

"Yep!" Dakota exclaimed. "Pretty much everybody except us three losers are in the pool. Grab your shit, Warren. It's time to party."

Both Max and Warren hesitated. Dakota leaned against the door and pouted. "Awe, c'mon guys. Think of it as a Christmas gift to me. I just moved here yesterday, and tomorrow's Christmas! I didn't move all the way to Arcadia Bay to have you guys miss out!"

After a mutual shrug, Max stuffed the scrapbook in her bag while Warren grabbed some shorts out of his dresser. "Cool," said Dakota.

When the two were bundled up and ready, they joined Dakota in the hallway. "We better hurry!" she started to walk off down the hallway. "The cold isn't good for a Kiwi like me!"

"A Kiwi?" Warren asked. He had a hint of bemusement in his voice.

"Yep. I moved here from New Zealand. It's like Aussie is Austrailian, except better."

The two sniggered. "Hey, you may think being a Kiwi is fruity, but it's fantastic!"

They both laughed at Dakota's corny joke. She smirked in satisfaction. She explained that her dad was a former pro skateboarder that was well known throughout New Zealand. He recently retired and wanted a "normal" life. So he founded a managerial job in one of the cheapest places to live, Arcadia Bay.

Her origin story finished just when she pushed open the doors leading outside. With a wink she shouted, "Race ya!" She got a cruel headstart.

Max and Warren were surprised, but they ran after the fun girl. She bragged about beating them, but she smiled affectionately at them. They smiled back. Mostly, they were glad to have a new friend.

They entered the party, but couldn't help but whisper their amazement. The surrounding area was decked in green and red Christmas lights. A giant Christmas tree stood off in the corner and an EDM remix of "Deck the Halls" played loud enough for all to hear, but quiet enough that they didn't have to shout to be heard.

Just like Dakota said, everyone except the three of them were already in the pool. Chloe called out to the two of them. Juliet, Justin, Trevor, Brooke, and Rachel followed suit. Warren smiled at Max and disappeared to get changed as Max strolled over to the pool. Chloe and Rachel had wadded over to the edge of the pool to chat. "Hurry up, hippie! The water isn't getting warmer."

"How do you guys already know Dakota?"

"Didn't she tell you?" Rachel inquired. "Student council helps new students move in. I was the only one still here, so Dakota and I were forced to hit it off. Not that it's hard with her," Rachel shrugged.

"Sucks to move just before Christmas," Max thought out loud.

"Hardly," Chloe input. "They had their Christmas, like, two weeks earlier. She fucking loves Christmas, set this whole thing up and decorated. I just stole Step-Douche's keys."

"So you guys are already friends?"

"Hella yeah. Hung out all yesterday while you guys hung with Kate. She's pretty fun to hang with. Now get in that damn bikini, MaxGuyver, Dakota said she wouldn't get in til everyone else was."

"Oh," Max got up to leave. Chloe swam over to talk to Justin while Rachel got Max's attention. "You better go. We barely know Dakota, but we already know she hates to exclude people. See you soon." After her sentiment, Rachel winked at Max and swam off to talk to Juliet.

While Max walked off to get changed, Warren examined himself in the mirror. What if she found his body unattractive? Or even worse, what if everyone laughed at his skinny body? He was like a walking strip of bacon. That's how thin he felt. Some guys, he assumed, would love to be as skinny as he was, but he thought he was unattractive.

Oh well, most of the people at the party were cool. Justin and Warren had had their issues before, but recently they haven't had trouble. Of course, he didn't really know the new girl. In fact he just met Dakota not even 10 minutes ago. Although, for some reason she felt surprisingly genuine. With her it just seemed like "what you see is what you get". She was also, without a doubt, gorgeous. But she didn't seem to be his type somehow. He was attracted to Max physically, mentally, and any other allys.

Whoa, he spent wayy to much time getting changed. He better head out there before someone suspects he was doing other… activities.

He had not even taken five steps out of the locker room when Dakota called him over. She was bent over (no worries, Warren was looking at her front. Wait, was that worse?), at a cooler next to a table. She had stripped off her sweater, pants, and shoes to reveal a red bikini top (of course decorated with Santa heads) and green bikini bottoms. A belly button ring gleamed at him. "Want some?" she pulled out a twin set of beer and set them on the table.

"Um, I don't really drink."

"Hakuna Matata," she replied with a cheery demeanor. "You a water guy or a soda guy?"

"Either one works."

"Mm, well the alcoholics might need some water. So here's a Mountain Dew. I'm sure you're used to the Dew. I hear you have an XBox and you're quite the gamer."

"I am," he beamed. He really liked playing.

"Nice! I'll add you sometime. Look, there's Max."

Max stepped out of the locker rooms, and he couldn't help but stare. Ordinarily, he wouldn't go out and say a girl was "hot", but to him Max certainly was. She was absolutely stunning. She looked really subconscious though.

Max had tried not to, but she couldn't help but look at Warren and even Dakota in their swim gear. Honestly, both looked kinda hot in their respective attire, and the thought made her blush. Mostly, though, she was looking at Warren. They each smiled at her, which made her blush harder. She couldn't stand to be gawked at, so she ran and cannonballed in next to Chloe. The poor girl had not been suspecting to be splashed, so she let loose a streem of curses so vile that even old sea dogs would be appalled.

Dakota turned to Warren, "You better get out there." With a wink she popped open her own beer and chugged some down. Warren decided she was probably right, and followed Max's example. Again, to Chloe's dismay.

The two went seperate ways in the pool. They made small talk with their peers. The party really got jump started though, when Dakota turned an EDM version of "Jingle Bells" on. She turned it up several notches and grabbed her skateboard that was tucked in the corner. The entire party stopped midconversation to watch her ride the skateboard and kick flip her way into the pool. They all voiced their approval to this level of badassary, but of course no one was more vocal than Chloe.

From then on, the party really began. Drinks flowed as smooth as the conversation. There was a game of silent Marko Polo. There was volley ball games, and jokes all around. After about an hour and a half, everyone was decidedly tipsy, save for the two non-drinkers Max and Warren. And Rachel, who was designated driver for her and Chloe.

Not long after this point, someone (more likely Chloe or Justin) started passing around a blunt, Brooke, Max, and Warren rejected it. There was an attempt at peer pressure, but the other party goers unfortunately were unable to convince them.

Another half an hour later, and the teens all were hungry and ready to leave the pool. Fortunately, Dakota had thought ahead. She brought out pre-grilled food and started to heat it up. Trevor insisted on helping. An indoor cookout had suddenly started taking place. Warren, Justin, Chloe, and Rachel then helped set up chairs in a circle, while Max, Juliet, and Brooke handed out paper plates.

After everyone had eaten, Dakota had insisted she had a game she wanted to play (hence the circle of chairs). She falls into the last chair and places a bottle in the middle of the circle.

"So what?" Rachel said with a laugh, "We're playing spin the bottle?"

Everyone else laughed, but at the same time they were curious. Were they actually about to play spin the bottle? Mind you, Chloe and Rachel were a couple, as was Trevor and Juliet. What kind of real first impression did Dakota want to make?

"Yes and no. Believe it or not, this isn't the first time I've moved. Every time I move, I play this game with new people. It's just like spin the bottle, but whenever it lands on someone you ask them a question and they have to answer honestly. I play this so I can know everyone better. Since, I literally just told all you guys a truth, I can start if you guys wanna play."

"Well," said Juliet, "I'm drunk, so I'll play."

After everyone failed to see the logic in that, Dakota took a swig of her beer and spun the bottle on the ground. It landed on Chloe. "So," she said, eyeballing the girl. "Why blue?"

Chloe ran a hand through her still damp hair. "I dunno. It's been my favorite color since birth." She shrugged, symbolizing her final answer. "So do I ask you a question or…?"

"Nope, spin to find out who you ask."

Chloe spun and by some luck, the bottle landed on Rachel.

"So, do you think I'm hot?"

Rachel turned to Dakota with a gleam in her eye. "I can still kiss her right?"

"Hey," she replied with her hands up, "I won't stop you."

After Rachel and Chloe kissed, it set the tone for the rest of the game. It was mostly flirtatious and fun. Nevertheless, there were some good questions thrown here and there. They learned that Dakota is 17, and she was born in early August. She's bisexual (and no she doesn't like Justin). They learned that she has ADHD and that her mother almost died to breast cancer. Also, they learned she isn't a virgin.

Of course, everyone was asked questions. Eventually, as teenage parties do, the flirting became a full out game of spin the bottle. The common version. It all started when Rachel asked Dakota to kiss her. Dakota complied without hesitation. She placed a peck on her lips. Then when she spun, she kissed Brooke.

Suddenly, there was kissing. Of course, per Chloe ruling, indiviuals with significant others can't kiss on the lips. But if they land on their significant other, all PDA (within reason) is out the window. After Chloe had landed on Max (give me a Maximum kiss!), Max had spun. Her lips had never felt so tingly. Weirdly, all of these kisses had been her first. She hoped her first kiss would be special, but playing a game where she was forced to kiss Justin wasn't exactly special.

It felt like slow motion when the bottle came to a spot right next to her. She looked over to see Warren's blushing face.

 _Finally._ She wasn't sure where the thought came from, but the reason she was still playing this stupid game (in a bikini no less), was to kiss Warren.

Warren seemed to be blushing a lot. Maybe he seemed to be embarrassed by the thought of kissing her. Is she that ugly?

She tried to swallow her insecuities. Her throat was dry.

 _Just… don't pucker,_ she pleaded with herself.

Then, slower than the world orbiting the Sun, their lips met. Instantly, she knew that this kiss was different. With some of those other kisses, she felt lied to by the countless books, movies, and even anime she read and binged watched about kisses being this amazing thing. What she thought she was learning was that kissing was wet, slightly gross, and mushy. She supposed if it happened for more than three consequetive seconds, then she might like it more.

But this was so much more different. This kiss was like scratching a needing itch. Was like taking the perfect picture. It was somehow the greatest feeling she had ever known, and it ended way too short.

As sudden as the contact initiated, as sudden as it ended. She was left with a deep need for _more._ But how could she tell him that when everyone was staring at them?

Somehow her lips were tingling even more. But this tingling was a far more pleasant feeling. She wondered what he thought.

She heard Brooke tell him to take his turn. She smiled at him and he smiled back shyly. He spun the bottle. It finally slowed to a stop on Brooke.

Max tried not to look. She really tried. She couldn't help but watch as they kissed. Still, it wasn't too bad… The kiss was even shorter than the one she shared with him. But after the kiss,Brooke whispered something at him, and he smiled back.

For some reason, that hurt her. To see him smile at her, for some reason, broke something in her.

Dakota somehow must've noticed something was wrong. She had just come back with a water. She watched Max after Brooke and Warren kissed and went around to her chair.

She whispered, "You said you were a photographer right?"

"Uh, yeah," she whispered back.

"Can I see your instant cam? I think it's wicked you have one."

"Sure." She was grateful for Dakota for presenting the opportunity to get away. She stood up and they walked to her stuff in the locker room. Dakota handed her a water, which she expressed gratitude for.

"No problem. Sorry that the game turned into that. That doesn't normally happen."

"It's okay." And it really was. She was still upset, but today became better than she thought it would. "Can you keep a secret?" she found herself asking.

"I believe so," Dakota smiled at her. They had reached Max's stuff. She used the excuse of digging in her bag to avoid looking at her new friend.

"All of those kisses were my first." She wasn't sure why she told her. Maybe Dakota's all around nature made Max want to trust her.

"Really?" once again, she seemed really genuine. "I find that really hard to believe."

"You do?" Max had finally found her cam. She brought it out, much to Dakota's delight.

"This is rad!" She asked Max politely if she could hold it. Really carefully, Dakota examined the camera.

"Do you mind if I take a picture of us?"

Max smiled, "Not at all." She really liked how genuine Dakota is. She was one of the few people that seemed like they really liked Max and really listened to her.

Dakota slung an arm around Max. "Say cheese!" she called. As Max smiled, Dakota stuck her tongue out. The picture slowly reeled out of the camera. Max shook it and smiled. The photo was really cute.

"I meant what I said, by the way."

"Yeah?"

"I really find it hard to believe you never kissed anyone before. You're really cute."

Max felt a blush rise in her cheeks. "Thank you, Dakota. You're cute too."

Dakota beamed at her friend. "Thanks!" Max noticed Dakota still had her camera. "You can put that photo in your new scrapbook."

"Thanks I will."

"Cool. Do you mind if we take one more for me to keep?"

"Sure." Taking photos with Dakota was so much easier than playing spin the bottle with everyone. Much less pressure.

"Cool." Dakota smiled and brought her face close to Max. She gave Max the camera and let her set the angle.

"Action." As she took the shot, Dakota surpised her by kissing her on the cheek.

As the photo developed, Max felt her cheeks heat up to near super nova. Dakota apologized, grabbing the photo and shaking it. Max couldn't help but realize how adorable they looked when the photo developed. She felt a little strange.

"Sorry, Max. I act on impulse sometimes. Chalk it up to the ADHD."

"It's okay, Dakota." It really was. The photo developed great.

The two girls found themselves at an impasse. Until Dakota spoke up. "I feel bad all your first kisses were wasted on a stupid game."

"It's okay. I'll live."

"Hey, if you want, you can have your first real kiss."

"With who?"

Dakota shook her head and smiled at Max's obliviousness. "With me, idiot."

She was teasing, but Max actually considered. She remembered the smile Warren gave Brooke. Did he like her? They were a much better couple. At least they should be. Max and Warren wouldn't last, right? Besides, he probably hated that he had to kiss her. Dakota obviously wanted to kiss her. She was the first one, even since grade school, that wanted to kiss her. Max had never been wanted by anyone, until now.

"Okay…" she said quietly. She swallowed a nervous lump in her throat. "Okay." she said a little louder.

Dakota smiled and brushed her hand over Max's arm. "You sure?"

Max shivered under her touch. "Yeah…"

Dakota smiled (shyly?) and gently placed her hand on the back of Max's neck. Her other hand trailed to Max's hip. Max wasn't sure where to put her arms and hands, so she out them over the slightly taller girls neck. Her lips met Max's like gentle pink pillows.

Suddenly, Max liked girls.

* * *

Warren didn't know why he smiled at Brooke's corny joke. He wasn't sure he was hearing her right, something about having chemistry. Truthfully, he was distracted by the kiss he shared with Max.

Because he was a socially awkward nerd, he had never been looked at, let alone been kissed by anyone. This stupid bottle game was his first time his lips touched anyone. Nope, not the way he ever pictured a first kiss. Not as a guy he fantasized about his first kiss. Not a lot anyway.

Needless to say, he didn't take too many of these personally. Especially when they forced him to kiss Justin and Trevor. Ugh.

Anyway, when his lips met Max's it was different. In the best way. The other kisses, it was just something that happened. But when he and Max kissed he felt it in his chest. It was like a wildfire spread from his chest to all of his extremities. His fingers, his toes and his lips all tingled. He could literally feel his brain explode with possibilities.

Three seconds was not enough.

Afterward, he was left wondering how Max felt. Did she feel the same way he did? Of all the people he was forced to kiss, Max's was his favorite. In fact, he realized he really did like Max. Now if only he had the guts to tell her.

But what if she rejected him? What if, just like that, POOF, friendship over? He couldn't take that risk, Max was too precious as a friend to lose…

So, he smiled. Then, Dakota and Max left for the bathroom. It felt like a part of him left with her.

Brooke was talking to him. He was way too distracted and found himself saying one word answers. Wait a minute…

"Well you look at that." Brooke pointed upward at the door above them. Warren distractedly looked up at the door, a green plant looking thing beckoned at them. He wasn't an expert in botany, but was that…?

"Mistletoe," Brooke confirmed his suspicions. "Do you know what that means?"

"Uh…"

"It means two people under it have to kiss, dummy."

"Oh. Uh," he stammered. "Before that spin the bottle thing, I've never kissed anyone."

"Seriously?" she raised an eyebrow at him. "I find that hard to believe."

"Yeah. Wait, you do?"

"Yeah. You're a cute scientist. Who wouldn't want to kiss you?"

"I dunno," he thought out loud. He scratched the back of his neck unintentionally. He didn't know what to think about her compliment. In fact, he did know that he wished he could kiss Max again. Even when he kissed Brooke during the game, he didn't feel the feelings he did when he kissed Max. He wanted to feel that way again.

"So do you? Want to kiss, I mean. Everyone else is."

She was right. Chloe was sitting on Rachel's lap, they were steady making out. Juliet and Trevor were doing the same thing by the pool. Even Justin was talking to someone. Well, that someone was a mop, but, regardless.

"Okay," he said. It would do him to get extra practice. Maybe.

And Brooke wasn't a bad person to kiss. He trusted her. She was one of his best friends. He wasn't sure if he had feelings for her, but she was pretty.

Maybe that was the one beer Trevor let him have talking.

Nevertheless, he found himself nodding. With a smirk, Brooke draped her arms over his neck. He learned from watching movies to put his hands on her hips. Their lips met. He didn't have the same feelings that he did with Max, but it was nice. He liked kissing her, but he didn't love kissing her.

Brooke seperated from him, and he briefly pondered why. She still had a smirk on her face, but she looked past him.

He turned to find Dakota and Max coming back from the locker rooms. Although, Dakota's arm over Max could be interpreted as friendly, somehow Warren knew,

They were together.

* * *

When Max saw them kissing, it all but confirmed what she already thought she knew.

They were together.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **So there's the first chapter! This will be an attempt (although I don't know how successful) at a slower Grahamfield story. I thought putting it in an alternate universe would be a better idea so we could skip past issues with Chloe and the like and just focus on introducing and expanding Dakota, as well as focusing the story purely on a Max/Warren relationship.**

 **Once again, thanks to Master Assassin Ezio for this idea. Check out his stuff!**

 **Also, don't be afraid to tell me what you think. It's late but I did promise to have the first chapter out by now. And indeed I did.**

 **Holywoodunderfed**


	3. II: New Beginnings and Sudden Endings

**Christmas Day, 2013**

 **1:13 a.m**

 _God she's so drunk,_ Warren thought to himself. He himself was a little buzzed, but that was from that half a beer. Which seemed irrelevant right now.

After the spin the bottle game, the party had dissolved into everyone congratulating the new couples. Specifically, Dakota and Max.

Sure, some of them were happy to see Warren and Brooke together (especially when she took initiative and grabbed his hand). The thing is, everyone _expected_ them to be together. Even Max said, "About time." Although, she did avoid looking at him when she said so. In fact, those were the only words she said to him after the spin the bottle incident.

Not that she had the opportunity. Everyone except him and Brooke gushed about the girls' new relationship. Partly because no one saw it coming. Who would've thought Max was gay? Also, everyone had to note just how cute the couple were. (Warren mostly agreed, although he was slightly biased).

With a crushing sense of loss, he forced himself to realize that Max had to be lesbian. All those moments that he thought he felt were false. Not lies, obviously, but he knew now that they would never be more than platonic.

In a way, it was a relief. Their friendship couldn't be ruined if he never revealed his feelings right?

Anyway, he supposed him and Brooke were an item now. He didn't mean to think it like he wasn't excited, _he was_ , but he never would have thought today would end up like this.

He never really had a crush on Brooke. Or considered her a viable option in the dating department. Basically, he never considered her a romantic interest. But what did he know about romance? He was just a 16 year old kid.

If there was any partner that would be a viable candidate, it would be Brooke, wouldn't it? She was pretty in her own way. Well, she wasn't exactly his type, or was she?

Was he a sapiosexual? Maybe, Max was smart in her own way. Brooke was definitely smart. Maybe Brooke was his type.

Well they were together now, anyway.

Which was the reason he "volunteered" to take Brooke back to her dorm after she had gotten plastered. He changed and somehow managed to get her back into warmer clothes (he hadn't seen anything graphic. He doubted she would like that. Even if they are together.)

He had cursed himself for not going to the party in warmer clothes. He was lucky neither him nor Brooke had gotten frostbite.

He had given Brooke, who had passed out from her alcohol consumption, a piggy back ride to get her back to the girl's dorm. He managed to carry her to her dorm room and exhaustedly plopped her on her bed.

He sat on her bed and looked at her sleeping form. She looked peaceful, that much is for sure. He liked her, and he was going to try to be the best boyfriend he could be, because that's what she deserved.

He thought about returning to his dorm. It would do him well to get some extra packing done before going home tomorrow, but he was way too cold.

He gave her one last look. They were a couple now, would she mind if he stayed over? Brooke may be _passive aggressive_ sometimes, but she wasn't irrational. She could be unexpextedly affectionate, like the kissing they shared.

So he decided he would stay the night. Mostly for practical purposes. He layed down opposite her on the bed. He made certain he stayed at an appropriate distance away to give her space, while he stayed close enough to her to seem friendly. He also made sure to place a garbage can by the bed, in case she got sick.

It felt like he had just closed his eyes when he felt himself drift off into sleep.

 **Christmas Day**

 **4:17 a.m.**

"Hey," he heard someone whisper. "Hey."

With a small groan, he opened his eyes to find his new girlfriend looking at him with slightly slitted eyes.

"Hi?" he responded. His voice was a little thick with sleep.

"Did you bring me back here?" she mumbled.

"Yeah," he answered. She sounded a little better. Her speech was clearer, but she still seemed bubblier than usual.

"You're so sweet."

"Thank you."

"And hot."

"Um…"

Then suddenly, her lips were on his. This kiss was more urgent, more passionate. He could somehow feel her lust through her lips.

He was surprised, of course. He clumsily tried to match her pace. She broke the kiss and with an arousingly crooked smile, climbed on top of him. She returned to kissing him. She licked his lips and he semi-hesitantly reacted by opening his mouth. She took the opportunity to rush her tongue into his mouth.

He gasped as suddenly he felt cold hands under his shirt and movement of her hips against his.

This was accelerating much faster than he ever anticipated.

His body welcomed the touching, even if he was still mentally catching up. It became harder, to catch up that is, when she stripped off her hoodie and shirt to reveal her red bra (again). She started to reach behind herself to unhook the accessory, causing Warren's cheeks to burn.

His hormones screamed _yes, yes, yes!_ while his mind said, " _Whooooooaaaaaa hold the phone!"_

"Whoa!" he said, the rational part of his brain finally making itself known. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Don't you think this is going _a little_ fast?"

"Nope!" she slurred. "I've wanted to do this for _a while._ "

"Uh," he didn't know what to say to that. "I don't think we should do this while you're… uh

… inebriated."

"You sure?" she asked seductively. She fully unhooked her bra and let it fall from her chest. Warren was a straight male, he couldn't help but notice. She smiled slyly at his reaction and placed one of his hands on her left breast.

 _Boob,_ he thought intelligently.

"Yes I'm sure!" he squeaked. As much as his body wanted to get it on, thankfully his mind knew that they rationally were not ready for this activity yet.

Brooke sort of pouted but she relented. "Suit yourself," she slumped over to his side once again. This time, she faced away from him and threw the covers over herself.

 _I just hope I didn't piss her off,_ he thought to himself.

"Aren't you at least going to cuddle me?" she asked in a tone he could not recognize.

"Oh!" he cleared his throat. "I-I can."

He dropped an arm gingerly over the girl's waist and waited for confirmation. He hoped she wouldn't scold him or something. Not like he could read her facial expression. Let alone see it.

"Goodnight… baby?" he tried.

"Don't call me that."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Goodnight Brooke."

"Likewise."

He sure hoped he'd get this "boyfriend" thing down soon. He had already pissed her off, somehow. He really hoped he could make it up to her somehow. He hoped…

God he was tired. Could she feel him… uh… _poking_ her? That's so embarrassing. Can she-?

He passed out after the thought.

 **Christmas Day, 2013**

 **4:12 a.m.**

Max couldn't sleep. She had gone to bed and layed in said bed for the past hour or so, but she just _could not_ nod off.

The reason? She was worried. Specifically, she was worried that her parents wouldn't accept her new girlfriend.

Girlfriend. The term still felt weird to think about. It's not that she didn't like Dakota, she really did, it's the fact that she never would've imagined she would _like_ girls.

She did find Dakota attractive. That much is certain. A small, animal part of her liked seeing her in her bikini. So Max wasn't confused. She was certain of her sexuality now.

The only problem was, could she explain to her parents what that meant? Would she have the guts to tell them that she was dating a girl?

She wasn't really worried about her dad. He was a logical man. She knew that he might be surprised, but ultimately he would be fine with it as long as Max were happy and safe.

Her mother was going to be the unpredictable one. She was well known to be protective over her only daughter. Perhaps too much so. It might take a while for Vanessa Caulfield to get used to the idea that Max was in a committed relationship with a female.

For the last two hours, Max tossed and turned in her sheets, trying to figure out the right things to say. She thought about texting Warren for advice. She even got so far as to drag out her phone and open his contact information. She stopped because a feeling of sadness penetrated her subconscious.

She was ready last night. She knew it. Before they were interrupted by Dakota, she was ready to tell him how she felt. Now, of course, that would never happen. Brooke and Warren were practically glued to the hip as the party wound down. She could barely stand to look at the two. Not that she had any ill will, but it was hard to see the guy she liked with the girl that was perfect for him. Even if he was her friend, it still hurt. She wasn't quite ready to see them all cute around each other.

Still, looking at his picture, she wanted to hear his voice. She wanted to listen to his advice. She wanted to just spend time with him, but it hurt too much. He was probably happy right now without her. With Brooke. Hell, they might be making out or something right now.

Okay, _do not_ think that.

After the party started dying, after she saw Warren carry Brooke off to the dorm, Chloe and Rachel apparently invited Dakota to Christmas at Chloe's. Obviously, this means that Dakota will have the "fortune" of meeting her parents. Max is also going to have to meet Dakota's parents soon too. Ooh boy.

They all agreed (with more than a little reluctance on Max's part) that Max would wake Dakota up and they would get ready around 10. Which is in only 5 measly hours away.

Forcing herself out of bed, she grabbed her guitar and strummed a few cords. Thank Dog that Brooke's dorm room was down the hall. If she played quietly, she wouldn't be able to complain.

After 10 or so minutes of playing, she returned to bed. Not long after, she fell into a restless sleep.

 **Christmas Day, 2013**

 **9:30 a.m.**

The buzz of her alarm clock annoyingly woke Max from her slumber. With a groan, she slapped the clock several times to finally shut the damn thing up.

Ugh. She did not want to get up. But everyone was expecting them at 11. She didn't know how long it would take Dakota to get ready, so she took the precaution of getting up earlier.

Now she regretted it.

Slowly, she got out of bed and retrieved her toiletries. She tried to ignore her reflection in the mirror, the bags under her eyes as prominent as a zit on prom night (hopefully she won't get one of THOSE).

Groggily, she made her way out to the cold, cold hallway. As she trudged out, she glanced at Brooke's door. She wondered if they were still in there. She wondered if they were happy.

Probably.

After Max opened the door to the showers, she scanned the room. Dakota was not in the room. She was probably still asleep, like a rational person. Max stepped through the one of the middle shower stalls and turned on the water so it could warm up. She slowly disrobed, the cold of the room raising goosebumps on her body.

Thankfully, she was able to get under the warm water of the shower. For the first time since the gift exhange, she was able to relax. She would get through whatever the day had to bring.

After an amount of time Max couldn't be bothered to count, she stepped out of the shower and changed. She wore her only Christmas sweater: a green one with Frosty the Snowmen on the front. She also wore black leggings and grey converse. She thought about wearing her Santa hat, but decided against it.

She went to her room and threw her toiletries and pajamas inside. She'll organize those later. Then she grabbed her trusty shoulder bag with her camera and then left to find Dakota's room. After checking the updated chart of the rooms, (edited by her girlfriend herself), she found Dakota's room to be Dana's old room. Dana graduated early to start her new fashion business, so it made sense that Dakota would take her old room.

She walked her way over to her girlfriend's new room and knocked lightly.

"Dakota? It's Max."

No answer. Max knocked a couple more times but still did not receive an answer from the Kiwi. After a moment of contemplation, she thought it would be best to go in and gently wake the girl up.

Gingerly, Max opened the door. The room was pretty plain, but that was probably because the girl just moved in. The bed was in the far corner of the room, and a nightstand beside the bed. That was it for accessories. The rest of the room was bare with the exception of the TV on the wall.

She couldn't help but feel slightly relieved to find the peaceful form of her girlfriend sleeping. As wild as Dakota seemed to be, this seemed the most placid she'd ever find the girl.

Dakota's hair was a mess, but it hung delicately down her shoulders. She still wore the same clothes she wore last night.

Quietly, Max dug her camera out and snapped a picure of Dakota. Once the photo developed, she snuck it back in her bag. Now came the hard part.

"Dakota?" she whispered. She gently shook the girl. It did not stir her.

"Dakota?" she said, louder. She shook her with more force. Right when she was about to give up, she heard the mumble of her voice.

"What the hell do you want?"

Whoa. That did not sound friendly. Dakota did not wear the usual smile on her face.

"You told me to wake you up for Christmas," she replied meekly.

"Goddamn it!" A growl escaped Dakota. Max wasn't sure how to react. She backed up a few steps and shuffled her feet.

"Couldn't you wait another half hour or something? Jesus Christ!"

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," she sat up on her bed. "Don't worry about it."

"I will," Max quietly retorted. "Because I'm your girlfriend."

Dakota gave her a sort of sneer/half-smile mixture. "Yeah? That's news to me," she said sarcastically.

Max flushed. She felt a little irritated. Who does she think she is?

Before she could say anything, Dakota spoke up. "Do me a favor, _girlfriend._ Over in the closet, on the middle shelf, there is a bag of prescriptions. Toss me the green bottle."

Max obliged. Although, on the inside her blood was boiling. Her _girlfriend_ was lucky she was a pacifist.

"Thanks. Now," she said. She took two white tablets from the bottle and tossed them in her mouth and swallowed them dry. "Please leave. I'll get you when I'm ready."

Max huffed, finally letting some frustration show. If Dakota was going to treat her this way, then maybe they wouldn't last long.

On her way out the door, Dakota's voice stopped her, "Max?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry. I suffer from mood swings. Trust me when I say I'm doing what's best for you by kicking you out."

"Oh," Max smartly replied. That would explain Dakota's sudden burst of attitude over waking her up. And last night, before they went back to the dorm, she suddenly got very quiet and even depressed. Max just assumed she was tired, but this explained a lot. "Are you bi-polar or something?"

Dakota got up and closed the door in Max's face. When all that remained was a crack, she answered, "Something like that."

The sound of the door shutting seemed louder than usual.

 **Christmas Day, 2013**

 **10:52 a.m.**

Dakota had insisted that Max drive to Chloe's. Partly because she knew where she lived. But Dakota also explained that despite her best efforts, she sometimes struggled with coordination, which can be bad for driving.

Thankfully she was also in a much better mood. The pills she took seemed to have worked.

She was humming along to a hard-rock song (apparently it was her favorite band Stone Sour) she turned on the radio and seemed to have relaxed for the most part. She wore a different red sweater with Christmas light decorations on it, skinny jeans and black converse. Her hair was kept under a red beanie with her dad's skateboard company's logo on it. She had also put a nose ring in her right nostril. She definitely looked pretty.

"I'm excited to meet your folks, Max."

When Dakota came to retrieve Max, she apologized again for her actions. Max accepted the apology, although she wouldn't forget her girlfriend's mood swings. The situation obviously weighed on both girl's thoughts because the girls hadn't talked much since leaving Blackwell.

Max parked in front of Chloe's house. After she turned the car off, she made no sudden movement to exit the car.

"You okay?" Dakota asked lightly.

"Yeah," Max grimaced. "Just nervous."

Dakota nodded. "I know something about nerves." She put her hand on Max's and lightly squeezed. "If it makes you feel better, Chloe, Rachel, Joyce and I will he right beside you. It'll just be a five minute conversation, and life will return to normal."

"That does help," she replied with a small smile.

"There's that cute smile."

Max blushed as a retort.

"And whatever happens, it's going to work out in the end. I promise."

"How come you're always so confident, Dakota?"

"I'll let you in on my little secret, but it comes at a price."

"What's that?"

Dakota just raised her eyebrow in response.

"Oh. Right."

Max turned to her girlfriend and planted a chaste kiss on her lips. "Payment fulfilled," Dakota responded with a smirk. Max in return rolled her eyes.

She then sat up in her seat and angled her body so she's facing Max. "Here's some life advice. Well, the meaning of life according to Dakota Lynn Reynolds." She cleared her throat dramatically before continuing. "We're only here to die. So be brave, be bold. Do the things you want to do before you die. Like this."

She grabbed Max's cheeks and kissed her. It was a lingering kiss. After a few seconds the girl reached behind her and opened the door behind her. "Let's come out of the closet!"

She turned and hurried out into the cold winter air. Max put her fingers to her lips in shock, then just shook her head as she watched Dakota stand by the door. "You're a mystery," she muttered to herself.

Then, she left the car and scrambed her way to stand by the girl. She sighed. It was time.

As if they were in slow motion, the two girls walked into the Price-Madsen household. Immediately, they were greeted by the other all-female couple. Max's parents and Chloe's parents were having a discussion in the other room, but soon the parentals came into the equation. At first they were confused why Max had brought a girl they had never heard of to Christmas. Max had the unenviable task of coming out as bisexual to them.

"Hey Mom, Dad, it's really good to see you."

"It's really good to see you too honey," Vanessa replied.

"It's good to see you, kiddo," Ryan supplied.

With matching smiles, the parents took turns hugging Max. "Who's this?"

Vanessa motioned towards towards the Kiwi. To answer the girl beamed at the mother. "This is Dakota," Max answered nervously. "My… uh… girlfriend."

It took a moment for the parents to take in the information. Her mother's eyes nearly bulged out of her skull, while her dad silently stroked his beard as he took in the information.

"Your WHAT?" her mother demanded.

"My… uh…" whatever courage she had dissipated by the look on Vanessa's face.

"I'm her girlfriend," Dakota said gently. Thank dog that she was extraverted. Her easygoing nature may be the only thing that saves her. Dakota subtly grabbed Max's hand

"Does that mean that you're a lesbian?" her mother said.

"Honey…" Ryan warned.

"No, it's okay," Max jumped in. "I'm-uh-bisexual. Like Chloe and Rachel. I'm attracted to both."

"Thank god," her mother said. "Does this mean I could still have grandchildren?"

"Mom!" Max protested to Ryan and Dakota's amusement.

"There's always a possibility," Dakota chuckled.

Vanessa scoffed slightly, but she seemed to accept that answer. "I still want to talk to you, young lady."

Max stepped forward. "B-"

"Not you," her mother said with a strange tone in her voice.

"Me?" Dakota asked confused.

With a nod, Vanessa motioned for Dakota to follow her into the garage. Ryan chuckled and asked Chloe and Rachel to leave him alone with his daughter. Once they left, Ryan turned to Max and winked. "Well, at least you won't get pregnant right?"

"Dad!" she protested.

"Kidding, kidding." He held up his hands in surrender. "How did you meet his girl in the first place?"

"Uh, yesterday."

"Wow, Maxwell. That's barely 24 hours."

"Well, more like last night."

"Sheesh," he shook his head exaggeratingly. "I will hand it to you though, she is pretty."

"She is," she said with a small smile.

"She has an accent though. Where is she from?"

"New Zealand. Not sure where specifically."

He wolf whistled. "That's pretty far to come for little Arcadia Bay. I wonder why they came all the way out here."

"Tell me about it. Every second I learn just a little bit more about her."

"That's what happens when you date someone you hardly know, Maxwell."

"I guess. You got lucky, Pop."

"You haven't called me that since you were four!" he chuckled. "And you're right, Maxwell. I did get lucky. I got lucky she said yes after I asked your mother out. We had already been best friends for two years before I took the risk. Best risk I've ever taken."

Max appreciated the sentiment, even if she didn't catch the irony. "What do you think they're talking about?"

"Oh? She's probably just giving her the business. I'm sure you'll know how it is."

"I'm sure," she replied. This was only half the battle. She was going to have to meet Dakota's parents soon.

Pretty soon, Vanessa and Dakota had left the garage and Christmas had truly begun. Joyce came out and greeted the two young couples. They all spent the rest of the time as a family. It would be a day that Max would not forget for a while.

Just when they were leaving, she got a text from Warren.

From Warren:

 _Merry Christmas! (I made it home safe!)_

She smiled.

 **December 28th, 2013**

 **3:03 p.m.**

Max was late. Three minutes late, but still, late. She was supposed to be at the Reynolds' at 3.

This was it. Today is the day she's supposed to meet Andrew and Rebecca Reynolds. She had heard so much about Dakota's father and step-mother that she felt that she knew them by heart.

She thought coming out as bisexual to her parents was nerve racking, but this made her anxious. Dakota said they were laid-back, but what if they hated her somehow? What if she made an embarrasment out of herself?

Dakota would give her some spiel about carpe diem or YOLO or something, but it would not calm her nerves.

She parked in front of a modest, brick two-story and knocked. A girl, possibly around fifteen, opened the door. This girl was definitely not her girlfriend. The girl was smaller, with pale skin, dark hair, freckles and green eyes. She wore a dark blue Captain America shirt and blue jeans. "You're Dakota's girlfriend right?"

"Yeah…" Max answered slowly.

The girl looked Max up and down. Checking her out? "You're prettier than the last one, at least."

"Thanks?"

"Piper!" Dakota's hand suddenly grabbed the girl's elbow and jerked her out of Max's path. "How do you not understand the phrase 'I got it'!"

"Bite me!" Piper cleverly retorted. She stomped upstairs and the two girls could hear a door slam. "Sorry about that, Max. Count yourself lucky you don't have a sister," Dakota apologized off-handidly. She looked good in a red t-shirt and a pair of cutoff jeans. She wore her all-too-familiar red beanie and a black necklace.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a sister?"

"Step-sister to be exact. I didn't mention her because I doubt she's actually human. I'm willing to bet she's literally a demon."

"Noted. So how do you feel today?" Since she learned about Dakota's mood swings, she'd been mindful to remind her to take her meds. She'd also been trying to grow accustomed to reading subtle changes in her behavior that suggest that Dakota is going to do something impulsive or mood changing.

She's gotten slightly better at it.

"Aside from almost falling down the stairs earlier, I've been okay. I took some, before you ask."

"That's a relief."

"Yeah. Sorry about last night. Again."

Last night, the two had Skype called for a bit. Dakota got into a rage episode, and eventually logged off angrily. She apologized profusely since.

"It's okay." There was something she wanted to bring up. It was what Piper said. Prettier than the last one? Just how many people has her girlfriend dated?

Dakota sighed. "Cool. I don't want to be angry, Max. I really don't. Some things just get out of my control."

"I understand."

"Thanks, Max. Anyway, let's get the show on the road! Ready to meet my folks?"

"Not really."

"I promise you, Max, they're going to love you."

She led her through the front door and fully into the house. Max didn't really have time to survey the house before Dakota dragged her into the kitchen. Her father and mother were sitted across from one another at a medium sized kitchen table. The room was slightly fancier than she thought it would be, wood paneling decorated the floor and white marble scattered the countertops. It was probably the fanciest kitchen and family dining room she'd been in.

"I'm just not sure if we should sign the kid," Andrew said to Rebecca. He looked as if he was in his mid-30s, but still dressed like he was a Teenage Dirtbag (dated reference). He wore a red t-shirt with his logo on the front, grey cargo shorts (in the winter?) and black shoes. He wore a grey Punisher beanie on his head too. He was clean-shaven with hazel eyes. He was tall, he had to be around 6'2. His skin was tan, like he spent a long time in the sun. Of course, he also shared a similar accent with Dakota.

He had started to continue his argument before his wife spotted Max. She cleared her throat and gestured to their daughter and her new significant other.

"You must be Max!" she interrupted her husband. Unlike Andrew, she looked like she was dressed for success. She wore a dark grey blazer with a white undershirt with dress pants. Similar looking to Piper, she had pale skin, green eyes, and raven black hair. Max noticed there was a distinct lack of freckles on her face.

"Yeah, I am. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Rebecca Reynolds extended her hand and shook Max's lightly. Andrew Reynolds turned with a smile that strongly resembled Dakota's and offered a friendly nod of the head. Typical skater.

"Nice to meet you, Max. We planned on giving you the normal speech about "treat our daughter right", but we know Dakota can handle herself."

Dakota grinned at her dad. Max knew a ton and more about Andrew Reynolds. He started his career in Seattle, and was well known for skating during the Nirvana-grunge scene. He became well-known for his "vert" skateboarding style and after a move to New Zealand became one of the pioneers for Kiwi-boarding (which was honestly just skateboarding in New Zealand).

She knew less about Rebecca. The most she knew was that Rebecca was (and might still be?) a field reporter for a world news outlit. At the time, she was reporting for the X Games that Andrew was a part of. Later on he would take a liking to the reporter and asked her out. The rest was history. Dakota was 9 at the time.

"Welcome to our little family," Rebecca smiled. She had a real glowing smile, but that might just be from years of being on camera.

"Thank you. I'm happy to be a part of it."

"We're happy to have you," Andrew cut in. "I wanted to ask you something, Max."

"Uh, sure."

"My daughter tells me you're a very good photographer. Is that right?"

"Yes, sir. I've loved photography since I was a kid. I came back to Arcadia Bay specifically to be in Mr. Jefferson's class."

"Mr. Jefferson? Small world. I was actually the skater in _They Sleep!_ "

"I thought I recognized you!" Max exclaimed with a laugh.

"My acting skills aren't as great as my skating skills," he replied with a laugh. "But I'm glad you liked my performance. Jefferson was a chill dude, even if he was quiet. Anyway, if you're in Jefferson's you must be high class. How do you feel about doing some work for me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Dakota told you about my company right?"

"I told her a little bit, Dad. Just enough for her to know about you."

"Well, my company specializes in sponsoring up and coming talent. This requires photo shoots. Since I heard you were a photographer, I thought I'd ask you. You would just have to do some photo shoots with the talent, and maybe do some action shots. Nothing too risky. You'll travel with myself and Dakota, and go to some locations throughout the US. Places like Boston, LA, New York and others."

"Wowser."

"Did I mention that you'll be paid too? I'll be paying for our plane tickets and your equitment."

Max could feel excitement flowing through her blood. She couldn't believe this was happening!

"How much Dad?" Dakota asked. She wanted to get to the bones.

"Depends," he replied with a grin. "Anywhere from $250-$700 a shoot. Of course, I'd also put you in touch with other famous photographers and the like. Build your budding reputation."

Max almost wanted to jump for joy. Sure, it wasn't exactly the way she thought she could jumpstart her career, but it would still be a great start. Chloe would be so jealous! But wait… "What about school?"

Andrew looked at his daughter with heavy amounts of amusement. Rebecca excused herself to go to work at News 5. Andrew kissed her quickly before she left. "I will give you a weeks' notice before we go, so you can get everything settled. Then we always go on Friday, after school. We'll be back as early as Sunday or as late as Tuesday. I've already talked to your Principal about this offer with Dakota, and I'm sure we can excuse you too. You'd get your homework in advance and you can get it done or whatever. Personally, I never did my homework and I turned out well. Eh," he shrugged but he still held a warm smile.

Max barely took time to think about it. The entire offer was perfect! She got to travel like she always wanted, she got to take photos of the world. She got to spend time with Dakota, and she'll get paid for it!

The only negative side is she wouldn't be able to travel with her friends. Like Chloe or Warren or Rachel or anything, but she's sure they'd understand.

"So what do you say, Max Caulfield?"

"Yes sir! I'd love to!"

"Rad! I actually need to print out a contract for you to sign. Do you remember where I put it Dak?"

"Yeah, I think you left it in my room whenever you came to talk to me about it. I'll go get it." Dakota left the room quickly. Andrew and Max watched her go. Once she left, Andrew turned to Max.

"We'll talk when I get back from taking a dump. Go ahead and explore or something, I shouldn't be long," he chuckled a little bit at the look on Max's face after his statement and left the room.

Suddenly, Max was alone. But not for long.

"Hey," said a voice from behind her. She turned and caught the sight of Dakota's little sister again.

"Hi. Piper right?"

"Yep. You must be Max. Sorry if I was a little blunt earlier. I don't exactly have a filter."

"It's fine."

"Cool. Anyway, I just want to tell you to be careful around my sister."

"I promise I won't hurt her."

"I'm not talking about that. I mean the opposite. Be careful around her."

"What do you-"

Before she could finish, Dakota's'a voice came from above them. "I got the contract!" she shouted while descending down the stairs.

"That's my cue," the raven hair girl said. "See ya around, Max."

Before Max could ponder why the Reynolds' girls were so strange, Dakota came barreling down the stairs to her. "Where's dad?"

"He said he had to go take-"

Dakota held up a hand. "He's always doing that. Come on, I'll show you my room before he gets done. Maybe we can sneak something in," she winked suggestively before grabbing Max's hand.

Despite the blush creeping on Max's cheeks, she couldn't help but think of Piper's advice.

" _Be careful around her."_

 **January 5th, 2014**

 **7:37 p.m.**

Brooke and Warren have been hanging out every day since the party. They were finally getting into a comfortable rhythm in their relationship.

I was like it was before, when they were best friends, only with more touching and kissing. Which actually was nice. Warren liked it. They were taking it slow, even if neither of them said anything about it.

In speaking of which, the subject of Christmas morning was never brought up. At least not fully. Every time Warren tried to discuss it, Brooke would shut him down. Perhaps she was ashamed she got so drunk.

They were watching Shaun of the Dead. It was a good movie and they were having fun watching it together and discussing returning to school the next day. Sooner or later, they ran out of things to talk about, as all close relationships do.

"Did you hear Max got a job?"

"No," she said with a strange tone in her voice.

"Yeah. She's doing photography with Dakota's dad's company. She just got back from New Orleans. It's really cool."

"Huh."

By some strange coincidence, his phone just happened to chime right as the words left her mouth. He cringed a little bit. Brooke had heavily implied that it annoyed her when his phone would go off. He tried to make a habit of putting his phone on silent whenever he was with her, to avoid her anger. He didn't like it when she was angry.

Still, he better check his phone just in case.

It was a text from Max. It basically asked them if they wanted to go on a double date.

"Max just texted me. Do you want to go on a double date with them?"

"No."

"No? I thought…"

"That's the thing, Warren," she said, pausing the movie.

"I want you to stop talking to Max."

* * *

 **Sorry it took so long to update! I had a lot of unfortunate circumstances come in my life and I suffered severe writer's block as well.**

 **But a huge thank you to Life is Strange Fan 21 for helping get me motivated! And of course thank you for all the reviews! They really help convince me to write more.**

 **I hope this chapter lives up to the first's expectations. We finally get to see some of Dakota's flaws, and her sister said something... Interesting.**

 **What do you guys think?**

 **Til next time, HUF**


	4. III: Something More Important

**This story is now rated Mature. Probably should've anyways, but eh. Strong language ahead.**

* * *

 **Valentine's Day, 2014**

 **7:41 p.m.**

Max was supposed to be getting ready. Her and Dakota had a romantic date planned (mostly by Andrew). They were going to some fancy restaurant in the town over that Andrew went to for a meeting. Apparently they had one of the best steaks in town? It sounded good, and Max was excited.

But she wasn't even thinking about the date. She sat on her bed, in a fancy black dress she borrowed from Rachel, and a doe necklace her mother gave her for Christmas, completely zoned out.

She was thinking about Warren. He seemed completely unlike himself lately. At first, she thought it was just her. She had been traveling so much since Andrew offered her the job. She'd been to New Orleans, Boston, Los Angeles, Jacksonville, and each time she missed him. She didn't see him much, so she figured the distance was just her being away.

Of course she missed her other friends during her travels, but for some peculiar reason, Warren just stopped talking to her.

She wondered if she did something. She texted him about a double date, and he's barely said a sentence to her since. Everytime she tried to talk to him, he would look left, then right, as if he were looking for someone. If he wasn't doing that, he was only feeding her one word answers.

It hurt her everytime he ignored her.

Yet she can't shake this feeling that he wasn't doing it without a reason. It's like she could feel that he wasn't doing it out of meanness, he was doing it out of necessity.

Maybe she was just blinding herself from the truth. She likes him. She really, really does. Now more than ever. But maybe now that he has Brooke, he realized he didn't need her.

She just really needed to talk to him. One on one.

So she just sat there. Debating. Pondering. Wondering. She had talked to Kate and Chloe and Rachel about her problems. The best they could give her was that maybe he didn't want to be friends with her anymore.

It's not like she would ban Warren from talking to her or something, right? Brooke was friendly (the way she usually was) to Max. There wasn't any reason to assume that was the case.

Max had sat there for so long that the only thing that could've broken her thoughts was the blaring sound of her phone ringing. The sound startled her to the point where she practically jumped higher than the ceiling.

"Hello?" she answered. She hadn't bothered to check the caller ID.

"Heeeeellllloooooooo," Dakota's voice mocked her in sing-song. "Are you ready yet slowpoke?"

"Yeah!" she exclaimed. She was lucky she was already nearly done. "I'm coming out in a few minutes."

"You better!"

After that, she promptly hung up. Dakota had been planning this for over a week. She was obviously enthused to have this fancy date, which was apparently a first for her.

They have been dating for over a month, and Max knew so much more about her now. She had always known she is charming, but she never understood _how_ charming she was until they went to Jacksonville together. Dakota had stupidly started riding her skateboard right in front of a "No Skateboarding" sign. A cop had coincidentally spotted her. She managed to charm her way out of the cop by flirtation. Even that had almost failed.

There were other things she learned about her girlfriend. She had a tendency to make bad decisions. Whether it was just poor judgement, or impulsive behavior, or both, she just didn't make wise decisions. The skateboard incident was one instance. In New Orleans, she flashed this old woman who told her to wear longer pants. In Boston, she "liberated" a shopping cart and rode it down a hill.

Basically, Max imagined Chloe's impulsive behavior but turned up a few notches. It was exhausting at times just to reel her in.

She was learning to interpret when she was about to do something rash. She would get this mischievous smile and a gleam in her eye. If Andrew was around, it would be easy to wind her down. If he wasn't, it would take lots of convincing from Max. Or threatening. Or both.

They weren't always able to get away with it. In Chicago, Dakota lifted a free hot dog. Until she was caught. Andrew had to arrive on scene and pay double just to pacify the guy.

Dakota was exhausting. She was fun, absolutely beautiful, and she knew things that would make even the dirtiest minds blush, (not that they got _that_ far). But she was almost always an endless ball of energy. Then when she wasn't, it was scary.

If she wasn't excited, or happy, she was depressed or angry. Mostly depressed. She would lay in bed for an hour or two, refusing to move. She would curl up into a ball. The only things that would calm her down were cuddling from Max, or even a song or two. Max wasn't entirely into the music she was, but she was happy to YouTube some songs for her.

Sometimes, Max just had to take time for herself. To Dakota's credit, she completely understood. They were a good couple, but they weren't perfect. They fought from time to time.

Max argued that Dakota cared too much about adventures and not enough about her. Max sometimes complained that she was a little _too_ friendly to other people, guys and girls.

Dakota would obviously deny both. She complained that Max was too stiff sometimes. She implies sometimes that Max should spend less time worrying about herself and live in the moment. That maybe she should trust in other people, specifically Dakota, more.

All the issues were pretty minor, however. They were going strong, and both were looking forward to Valentine's Day. Even if Max had other things on her mind.

Max quickly put on a hint of eyeliner and grabbed her bag. She shut the door behind her and made her way to Dakota outside.

 **Valentine's Day, 2014**

 **8:36 p.m.**

"You there, baby? You've barely touched your food. Let alone say more than three words to me."

Max looked up, her thoughts broken by Dakota's voice. They had arrived about 15 minutes ago at the 'Ol Luxemburg Inn. They had placed their orders and gotten their food, apparently, but Max couldn't seem to remember any of that for the life of her.

Her mind was too distracted by the issue of Warren ignoring her. She knew she wasn't being fair to Dakota by being so distracted, but she couldn't help herself. She was worried about him. About his safety. It just wasn't like him.

"I'm really sorry, babe." For some reason, Dakota was very fond of nicknames. The pet names still felt weird on her tongue. "I'm just lost in thought."

Dakota gave her a concerned look. Her dark eyes bore deep into Max's blue eyes. Dakota looked extremely gorgeous tonight. She refused to wear a dress, but she wore a black tank top with matching black skirt. She wore black stockings underneath and her usual black shoes. Her hair was pulled up in the familiar twin buns. Her hair fell over her left eye in a strangely arousing way.

She finished twirling her spaghetti and took a bite. "I can tell. I said, 'I didn't wear a skirt and matching panties just to sit and eat dinner', and you didn't bat an eye. Which, might I add, is unlike you."

"I'm sorry. I'm just… thinking about Warren."

"I know you're worried, Max. But can we make tonight about us just for once?"

"Yeah, we can." Max smiled at Dakota. A smile which the younger girl returned. Max dug into her plate slowly. The food here really was good.

The two chatted for a bit and enjoyed each others company. Yet Max couldn't help but start thinking about him.

This became especially true when the blue eyed brunette started to lazily scan the quaint restaurant. It was old-fashioned styled, centered with a 50's vibe. Most importantly, Max couldn't help but notice some of the other couples. There had to be a dozen or so of them, a mixture of straight and gay, all of them seemed happy. All of them were chatting amicably with their partner. All of them having a great time.

One couple in particular caught her eye. They had to be around her age. The male seemed around 19 or 20, with a dark complection and close-cropped hair. The female with long, curly ginger hair and pale skin. She also seemed to be around 20. Their physical features didn't matter that much, but Max was suddenly enraptured by the closeness they seemed to share. Max didn't know them from Adam, but she could tell the lucky couple had a connection. As the couple in question started holding hands across the table and smiling, Max felt a deep pang in her gut. Some ancient part of her longed for that connectivity. A part of her longed to have that careless smile on her face.

Some part of Max knew she had that with someone. That she felt that spark. That energy. That connection. That someone she can wear that smile with. That someone was not here. Was not with her.

As she forcibly turned her head towards her current significant other, she couldn't help but stare. There were words coming out of her mouth, but Max couldn't discern them through the ringing in her ears.

Something inside her was stirring. Her blood pressure was rising, her cheeks were burning. Unbeknownst to her, her hands under the table clenched into fists.

She was going to find out why. She will. She must. She…

"You're doing it again," Dakota muttered.

"Wha- oh. I-" The tone in Dakota's voice startled her.

 _Just how fast can the human heart beat?_

"I ask you to do one simple thing. And _you just. Can't. Do it."_

"I'm sorry, Dakota," she pleaded. "I'm just worried that Warren-"

"It's always about something! Goddamnit, Max!" At this point, Dakota stood and threw down the plate of mostly eaten spaghetti on the floor. With a loud _smash!_ the plate shattered, and the rest of the restaurant's patrons stared at the young couple.

"You want to know why that asshole is avoiding you, Max?! Go and talk to him, grow some balls, do something with your sad fucking life! Seriously dude! All you do is mope around and wait for something to happen!

I'm not always going to be there for you! You're so fucking miserable. All you do is sit around like you're lost in some goddamn country music video.

Wakey wakey, Maxi! There's a whole world out here, but you're too scared, too lost in your damn mind to do something about it!"

Max just stared at her. Yet something bubbled up in her, some rebellious part of her that she never felt before. "Is that all?" she asked. Her voice as steady as a river.

Dakota just stared at her in disbelief. A vein, bright and blue as the sky, bulged in her forehead. "If that's the way you want it to be," she replied with venom. She dug in her purse and dug out a 50 dollar bill and her set of keys. She slapped the 50 on the table and slung her purse over her shoulder. Quickly, she walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Max stood. She was having an out of body experience. It was as if she were watching a version of herself perform on a stage.

Dakota turned and waved. With an evil smirk she spat, "I'm going to see the world, photographer."

Then Dakota Reynolds walked away.

* * *

"I'm so sorry about that, miss. Can I help you? Get you an Über?"

"Thanks Walter." Walter had the unfortunate duty of being the girls' waiter. He had to be around 22, with slight Asian features and tan skin. He was super polite and a genuine nice guy. "But I'm okay. I'll get a friend to pick me up." It was a minor miracle Max was able to keep her voice steady.

"I'm so sorry about the plate."

"Don't worry about it, ma'am. It's not the most expensive thing broken after a fight. At least your ex left enough to cover the bill and then some."

"Yeah," she replied, pulling her phone out of her bag. As she speed dialed her number, her thoughts stuck on the word, "ex".

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she silently thanked whatever god there might be that she answered tonight.

"Max?"

"Hey Chloe," she replied. She made no attempt to mask the sadness in her voice. "I need a ride."

"Wait, what? Isn't Dakota with you?"

"Not anymore. Just come to the 'Ol Luxemburg Inn. I'll explain on the way home."

"That bitch! We'll be right there, Maxi Pad. You want Rachel to stay on the phone?"

"Just get here as soon as you can." She hung up right after. She was too tired and depressed to deal with Chloe's rage right now. She just wanted to crawl in a hole somewhere and let it all out.

"Walter? Where's your bathroom?"

 **Valentine's Day**

 **9:00 p.m.**

"What the _fuck_ was she thinking?" Chloe was beside herself with rage. Max had told her the whole story. Well, the whole story besides what she was so distracted about. She had chosen to sit on the far right of the truck. Farthest away from Chloe, because she knew she would have the most violent anger.

Rachel sat in between them. Max knew the model was also pissed, but she also knew that Rachel had far more control than Chloe.

After Chloe had gotten all of her rage out, the truck was filled with silence. Rachel was the first one to speak up, "So she just blew up on you for no reason?"

"I guess so."

"What's her problem?" Chloe spoke up. Why they were letting Chloe drive was anyone's guess.

"She has mood swings." Now why Max felt the need to defend Dakota? That she also didn't know.

"Mood swings?" Rachel asked. "Is she bipolar or something?"

"I asked her. She didn't really give me an answer."

"I know what she is," Chloe cut in.

"What's that?" Rachel turned to her.

"A hella big twat-waffle!"

That was enough to make Max laugh. Dog, it felt good to laugh. Once their laughter died, the truck grew silent, save for low burn of punk rock filtering through the radio. Chloe remained stewing in rage. Max returned to silently pondering. Rachel looked thoughtful.

"So are you guys broken up, Max?"

Max shrugged. The more Max thought about it, the less she cared about possibly breaking up with Dakota. "I honestly don't know."

"What are you going to do then?" Rachel asked lightly. Max didn't know who Rachel was when her and Chloe got together, but according to Chloe, Rachel wasn't much different in regards to emotional stability as Chloe. The time they've been together had really matured Rachel. She had better emotional stability than anyone Max or Chloe knew. She was the perfect rational candidate to talk to.

It honestly was a minor miracle she could keep Chloe in check, quite frankly.

"She was right about one thing."

"Max-"

"No. She's right. I can't keep sitting around waiting for something to happen. I have to do something."

"What are you going to do?"

"I need to talk to him."

Rachel furrowed her brows for a bit, but then she understood.

"What about Dakota?"

"I'll deal with her later. Right now, he's more important.

And as for that, I have a plan."

* * *

 **Long and irrelevant A/N: I planned on making this a really long chapter. But, in the end, I decided to add a sprinkle more of suspense by splitting up the chapter in half. On the bright side, you guys get it much sooner than if I decided to write a long chapter. Which, let's be honest, I usually do.**

 **This story is so weird because unlike the others, (Always and Coming Home, available on a FanFiction server near you. #shamelessplug), I knew my beginning and my end. For Always and CH, all I knew is a basic plotline. Always was always, (pun intended), going to be about Max and Warren getting together after the Sacrifice Chloe ending. CH was going to be about Max mourning Chloe and friendship between the four with some romance. I didn't know the endings of either of those until I was halfway done writing.**

 **For Speak, the second Master Assassin Ezio 91, (check out his stuff. It's pretty good), gave me the idea, I knew exactly what I was going to do in the beginning, and exactly how I wanted it to end. The only trouble I ever had, is the middle pieces. But all of those are starting to come together.**

 **Honestly, this story was supposed to take place from December-May. Yeah, a long time period. But I'm sure you guys don't mind if that shortens a whole lot?**

 **Anyway, don't be shy! Tell me your thoughts on the chapter! I love to hear them. I doubt many of you saw Dakota being like this from the first chapter.**

 **Furthermore, I'm sorry Warren wasn't in this chapter. I know I left it on a Warren cliffhanger, but I promise that will be amended.**

 **Anyway, I need to get writing on the next one. See ya soon!**

 **HUF**


	5. IV: The Truth

**February 15th, 2014**

 **11:32 a.m.**

She tried knocking on his door. It was worth a shot.

She knocked multiple times. He never answered any of the times. She should try again later.

 **February 15th, 2014**

 **7:16 p.m.**

Max had just returned to the boys' dorm after going into town with Rachel to get her haircut. Her hair was now much shorter, to the banged bob she loved. She had no idea why she let her hair grow so long. ( **A/N: the same hair we're used to for Max)**

A couple of guys gave Max weird looks after she walked in. She ignored them all. She knocked loudly on his door. He never answered.

"I don't think he's at his dorm."

"Thanks, Trevor."

She wasn't worried though. She had a plan.

 **February 16th, 2014**

 **1:38 p.m.**

Max purposely waited until the afternoon. Dakota was usually in a better mood then. If she was home.

Mostly, she was nervous. They had not talked to each other since Dakota blew up at the Ol Lux. Sadly, it had to be done. She had to come over.

She probably could've texted. Could've called. But she would rather face a confrontation head on than one over the phone.

As she walked up to the Reynolds' front door, she felt a little self-conscious. She wore a white doe t-shirt under a new light blue hoodie (Warren's favorite color), jeans, and grey converse. She felt like she looked so ordinary compared to how Dakota usually looks.

Swallowing a lump in her throat, Max rang the doorbell. The epitome of nervousness.

The door opened to reveal the five o'clock shadowed version of Dakota's father. He wore a Seattle Seahawks jersey with a matching beanie (he proclaimed if they won the Super Bowl this year, he'd wear their gear all month. Apparently they did), white washed blue jeans, black shoes, and a pair of sunglasses. Max wasn't really into facial hair, but his shadow made him look more handsome. Less like a 16 year old skater anyway. More like the 30 something man she was used to.

"Max!" he excitedly exclaimed.

Well, it certainly didn't look like Dakota told her family about the argument. Andrew was greeting her like he always greeted her. "What do I owe the pleasure?"

After a few days of calling him sir, Andrew corrected her insistently. "Hey, Andrew. Is Dakota here?"

"No, actually," he scratched his chin absentmindedly. "Rebecca took her and Piper shopping for a while. If you want, you can come in and hang out til she gets home."

Thank God. This is working out better than she could have hoped. "That sounds great. I'll just hang out in her room til she gets home." Max tried not to let the relief show in her voice.

"Rad. Come on in."

He opened the door for Max to step through. Max obliged and made her way over to the oak accented stairs. "Before you go up, Max," Andrew's voice grabbed at her attention, "I need to talk to you."

Just the sentence alone caused fear to naw at her stomach. What if he did know about the fight? Although there wasn't a trace of anger or anything in his voice, she was still nervous. What could he want to talk about if it wasn't about the fight?

"It'll only be a minute or two. It's the first time I realize I could talk to you while knowing we won't be interrupted by Dakota."

Max didn't know how to respond to that vocally, so she raised an eyebrow. He led them to the red leather couch in the family room. The TV was turned off, that was a sign that warned Max that whatever they had to talk about was serious.

"Let me just say, Max, that I love my daughter more than anything else in the world. I know I am the "cool dad" and all, but that's because, Max, I want my daughter to have as full a life as possible. Do you know what I mean?"

Max just send him a confused look. She honestly had no idea what he meant.

"You're confused," he replied with a sad smile. "I take it she hasn't told you her… condition?"

"No. She's told me some stuff…"

"Like her symptoms, and you've seen her take her medicine, but you have no idea what it's for?"

"Yeah. That's pretty much it."

"Damnit, Dakota," he withdrew a heavy sigh. "I won't go into the cliché 'don't hurt my daughter' spiel because I know she can handle herself. I will say this though: Dakota adores you. One of the symptoms of her condition is, 'difficulty thinking through problems'. As much as I love her, I know her better than almost everyone in the world, except for her mother."

"Rebecca?"

He chuckled, "No. Her birth mother. Kiera ( **A/N: pronounced key-air-uh)** and Dakota were so close it sometimes was nearly impossible to seperate the two. Unfortunately, Dakota took her mother's side in the gene pool. As I was trying to say, as much as I love her, Dakota will make horrible decisions. Max, I'm not going to sugarcoat it, _she will hurt you._ Kiera did. Many times. Even though she hurt me, I knew, that she was the best person I will ever know. I loved her Max," he took off the ring on his left hand and showed Max that underneath, there was a tattoo of a different ring with the initials "KAR" on it.

"I loved her until the day that God decided to take her from us. But I thank him. I thank every god there is or might not be, that for a brief moment of time, I had Kiera. It took a long time until I finally convinced myself I deserved another chance at romance. I love all my girls. I love Rebecca and I love Piper. But Dakota has my blood, Max. She's all I have left of Keira, of my life before. My greatest fear is losing her."

The sight of Andrew's tattoo transfixed Max. She found herself tearing up a little at Andrew's confession. It fully occured to her that Dakota was sick. She might not know how much, but she was sick.

"I'm not trying to scare you away, Max. I just want to let you know what you might be in for. It's not for me to discuss Dakota's health. When she gets home, I'm making sure she tells you. I don't know how your date went, but I do know that Dak hasn't spoken much to me since. Did you two get into a fight?"

Max just nodded in response.

"I thought so," his voice betraying his sorrow. "I got a call from the restraurant last night. They billed me with broken china. I was pissed, but I understood."

"Do you have this talk with everyone, Andrew?"

"You're the first, Max. Maybe because I actually like you. Dak has brought a couple people over. Some of them nice enough, but with bad intentions. Some were just plain dumbasses. You are the first one that's completely genuine, and actually had more brain cells than hormones."

Max smiled warmly at Andrew. If Dakota and Max were to break up, she was going to miss him. She was going to miss the job. He was one of the best adults she knew, no, one of the best people.

"I'm just trying to protect the both of you. Dakota really cares about you Max. She talks about you constantly. I know you care about her too. Just do the right thing for her, okay? That's all I ask."

"I will, Andrew. I promise."

He smiled warmly at that. "Cool. Now, go on. I have to go into town. You'll be okay by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Max stood and walked over to the stairs. She stood at the top step before reconsidering, "Be safe, okay?"

Andrew had already walked over to the front door and grabbed his keys and a plaid jacket. He mock saluted, "Will do, Max Attack! See ya later!"

He opened the door and left with a fatherly smile on his face. The door slamming shut all but confirmed to Max: she was alone. Time to begin the plan.

She worried about Dakota, still. She knew that sooner or later, they would have to talk. The thought made her nervous. However, her first priority was Warren.

It made it so much easier without Dakota looking over her shoulder. Max went into Dakota's room and turned on her XBox and her TV. She struggled for a second to figure out how to turn on the controller. Fortunately, she had seen Dakota and Warren play the XBox enough to remember to press and hold the center "X" button. She fought the impulse to cheer when it turned on.

Now came the harder part. There was a way to voice chat with him right? What did Dakota call it? Party call? Voice chat? Party chat?

As she also struggled to remember his XBox name (Dakota called it a "gamertag", who the heck came up with that?), she got an invite to a party by "DanielDCost". That had to be Daniel's gamertag. Thankfully, the command said to hold the "X" to join. She complied, and suddenly the screen showed Dakota (DaksTheDestroyer. Dakota's inner Marvel nerd coming out), in a party with Daniel and someone named "Dr. Warvien" who was playing Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. Max could only hopefully assume this was Warren.

Just before Max remembered that you had to have an actual microphone to talk online, Daniel's voice exploded through the TV's speakers.

"So let me get this straight, Warren, Brooke banned you from talking to Max?"

Holy shit. It was him. Maybe she didn't need the mic. By some coincidence, they were talking about her.

"Yeah," Warren sounded depressed. Max heart started racing a million miles an hour. Of course Brooke would ban him from talking to her.

"Why would she do that?"

"Brooke doesn't trust her. Says that Max is going to try to turn her against me or something."

"Where is Brooke?"

"She's getting a dress for that Vortex Club party next weekend. You know, the late Valentine's one? I don't want to go, but she's making me after Taylor gave her an invite."

"So don't go, dude. You have the right to say no."

"It's couple's only, Daniel. Besides, I don't want to make her mad. Not again." Maybe it was just Max's imagination, but she could swear she could hear Warren wimper that last part.

"I'm so sorry, Warren."

"I am too."

"Give me a second, Daniel. I'm trying to kill this guy."

During the silence, Max's head spun. It was true. Brooke banned Warren from talking to her. As she waited, she received a text. It was from Juliet. It was a picture of Dakota kissing some dude at the mall. Underneath, Juliet texted, "I'm so sorry, Max. I won't tell anyone if you want."

As Max texted her a response, she heard Warren get back on. "Alright, I'm back. I saw the sketch you did of Max. It looks amazing, man."

"Thanks, Warren. She's a good muse. What are you going to do about her, anyway?"

"I don't know. I still like her so much. Everytime I see her I just wanna talk to her and make your smile, ya know? The last thing she needs is Brooke bearing down on her."

"So what are you gonna do?"

"I guess keep avoiding her. It kills me. I just wish Dakota would've waited 10 more minutes. I was about to tell her how I feel."

"Why don't you tell her now?"

"Cause she's with Dakota. She's happy. I can't just stop her from being happy."

"Uh, dude. In case you didn't notice, Dakota is in the party. She isn't talking."

Max turned off the XBox. She didn't know what to feel.

 **January 5th, 2014**

 **7:40 p.m.**

"Why would you want me not talk to Max anymore?" Warren was infuriated with Brooke for even suggesting it. He was willing to just be friends with her just for Brooke, but this is going overboard.

"I just don't trust her. You can trust me, Warren. I've known you for four years! How long has Max known you? Three months? Four? You barely even know the slut!"

"What did you just call her?"

"You heard me," Brooke replied. "She kisses some girl she barely knows for an hour, and was all over you during that stupid spin the bottle game? She doesn't deserve you Warren!"

"Stop being a-!"

"Being a what Warren," she said with an edge in her tone.

"Being a bitch," he answered defiantly.

 _Slap!_

Warren didn't know what happened. One moment, his eyes were staring daggers into Brooke's, the next moment, his eye was blurry and his cheek was sore. She must have slapped him, hard.

"Why did you make me do that?" she whispered. "I'm only doing what's best for you."

"What's going to stop me? What if I want to talk to her tomorrow?" he was going to fight for Max til the very end.

"You really want to know?" she said with a smirk.

Before he can reply, she dug a flash drive out of her pocket and put it in her laptop. Shaun of the Dead disappeared and photos of Max at the party appeared. The photos had been taken in a way that suggested Max had been drinking and making out with everyone at the party. Of course, the other students at the party could argue against what these photos were attempting to say, but, even so, most could easily assume Max was underage drinking at the party. Even smoking. Brooke pointed at a photo of Max passing a blunt to Chloe.

Just half of these photos could get Max's scholorship taken away, or worse.

"I can't believe you, Brooke."

"I don't want to do it," Brooke's voice was softer now. Despite his instincts, Warren was inclined to believe her. "Believe me, Warren, I'm only doing what's best for all of us."

Warren had to stop talking to Max. She could lose everything if these doctored photos leaked. He couldn't let that happen. "I understand. I'm sorry."

"I'm glad you see it my way." Brooke removed the USB and stashed it into her pocket. She then grabbed the photo on Warren's desk. Warren watched as she held the photo Max gifted him at Christmas in her hands.

"You won't be needing this anymore."

And as she ripped the photo, Warren's heart ripped with it.


	6. V: Borrowed Time

**February 16th, 2014**

 **3:32 p.m.**

Warren and Daniel played some GTA V for a while before Daniel got off after complaining about a project that Mr. Kennedy had assigned him for Economics. Warren half-heartedly answered his friend, then suddenly, he was alone with his thoughts.

The last two months or so had done little to Warren's psyche except made him more anxiety ridden than usual. He constantly worried about upsetting Brooke or doing something wrong. Even in class or on the school grounds, he felt as if he constantly had to look over his shoulder at Brooke.

One could assume that Warren could relax when he was back in his dorm, alone. Those who would assume were wrong. Brooke constantly wanted to ensure Warren was being faithful. Usually, this involved constantly wanting to Skype him or message him. If he didn't answer, she would become irritated.

Sometimes, she would even go so far to surprise him by coming over unnannounced. It had caused quite a scene when she came over unannounced to find Warren's door locked or jammed. Since the other dorm rooms did not have locks, Brooke insinuated that Warren had blocked the door because he was cheating or performing some other scandalous activity.

It wasn't until Warren had come home from the Two Whales that he was finally able to convince her that he just wasn't home. He had made his own makeshift lock mechanism to prevent midnight intrusions from Logan or Zachary from happening again.

Brooke now insisted he keep his door unlocked at all times.

It wasn't just an anxiety thing. Warren found himself enjoying the things he usually enjoyed less and less. Most of the time when he woke up in the morning, it would take him minutes to hours to convince himself to get out of bed to start the day.

Video games seem monotonous. Movies lost their magic. Most days he just felt exhusted. On these days, all he wanted to do is go to bed and just lie there. Just let the TV carry a humdrum tune as he drifted off into space.

It became aware to Warren he might be depressed.

He couldn't help it, however. Max's career was on the line. He did his best everyday, but he wishes things were different. Wishing won't solve his problems though.

At some point, Warren's mind slipped from the comfortable ease that was video games and dealt with the stress that was his girlfriend coming back to his dorm with her new dress, fresh from the store.

She was excited, he knew. She was never enthusiastic, but he knew enough that whenever she talked about something for days, no matter how many times she repeated herself, she was excited about it. She was excited about this dance for the last week.

She fully expected them to lose their virginities to each other. Warren didn't know why, but he just didn't want to. It wasn't because he wasn't attracted to her, she was attractive, it's just that it didn't feel right.

Why didn't he want it? He wasn't sure. What kind of man was he to not want to have sex with Brooke? Men were supposed to take control; they weren't supposed to be hesitant.

Was he less of a man for not wanting sex?

His phone rang before he could answer that rhetorical question. Unfortunately, the caller ID told him that the person calling was not one he wanted to deal with. He was assuming she was back at Blackwell.

Now he was looking at the Brooke's messages he had left ignored, it was obvious that in the next few minutes, she was coming up.

Not for the last time, Warren wondered if Dakota heard Daniel and him talk about Max. Honestly, some part of Warren wants Dakota to tell Max about it, but a bigger part of him knew that if she did, catastrophe could only occur.

It was part being lost in thought, and part total fatigue that Warren did not immediately answer the door when a knock came. He knew exactly who it was. He wanted to extract every precious second of calm and blissful loneliness the day could muster.

Sadly, it was time to face the music.

* * *

 **Meanwhile:**

Max wasn't sure how long she sat on Dakota's bed. She was writing in her journal and trying to make sense of all the madness. She had already finished minutes ago, but anxiously doodled while she waited for Dakota to come home.

She did not want to talk to her, but she new she must. She needed answers.

And she needed to break up with her.

She recieved a text from Piper a few minutes ago. Apparently, despite saying she wouldn't, Juliet had, whether intentionally or not, leaked the info of the cheating scandal. Now Dakota knew that Max knew. Hell, the whole school probably knew now.

Then, Max heard the door slam. She winced at the unflinching silence that penetrated the house. Somehow it seemed as if her hearing range had increased several notches, she could hear Dakota slowly walking up the stairs.

She knocked. It seemed ridiculous considering that this was her room, but humor was lost on Max right now.

"Hey," Max said upon the girl's entrance. Black makeup from her subtle eyeshadow cascaded down her face. Her eyes were red and puffy. She definitely had been crying. A small part of Max felt sorry for her.

"Hi," Dakota said hesitantly.

The two girl's stared at each other for a few moments, none of them knew what to say to break the tension. Max had seen Dakota at her worst and her best, but surprisingly this seemed to be her most vulnerable.

She sat down next to Max on the bed, but a reasonable distance aways. She wore a tight black t-shirt, blue skinny jeans and her usual red beanie. "Max, I'm so sorry."

"Save it," Max said shaking her head. She didn't want her apology. "You have major explaining to do."

"I was at the mall and thi-"

"Not that," Max quieted the girl's hysteria. "I don't care to hear that story. I want to know why."

"Why? I was just about to tell you how?"

Hot, righteous anger swelled up inside Max. She was done with games. She found her temper bursting like a balloon and she interrupted the girl."Stop hiding the fucking truth, Dakota. I want to know why. I want to know how sick you are and why you haven't told me."

"Oh," she whispered. "That.

Well Max, to be blunt, I was born to die."

Max forced a small smile to try to calm the tension. "Stop being so dramatic."

"I'm completely serious."

"You don't have cancer or something right?"

"Not exactly. You remember my mom?" Dakota dragged herself back on her bed and sat in a Native American style way. Max knew enough about her to know that when she adopted this position, she was not in a happy mood. This posture was more contemplative then anything.

"Yeah," Max noticed how Dakota's hands were white from gripping her bedsheet so tightly. "Your dad told me that you unfortunately inherited your mother's genes."

Dakota's lips curled upwards into a sardonic half-grin. "He practically gave it away, didn't he? Yeah, my mother unfortunately passed down Huntington's disease to me."

"Huntington's disease?"

"Yeah." Now Dakota refused to meet Max's eye. This was a level of vulnurability she had not seen before in the usually outspoken girl.

"It's a genetic disease that causes nerve cells in the brain to break down over time."

"That's insane," Max's tone dropped from one of sharp anger to a softer, more sympathetic tone. She thought about putting a soothing hand on Dakota's shoulder but dropped the idea.

Dakota nodded. Max's noticed fresh tears developing in Dakota's eyes.

"Most people who have the disease don't develop the first symptoms until they're 30 or even later. I-," she sniffled. It was obvious she was holding back tears. "I'm not one of the lucky ones."

"Last year is when the fun began. Of course, my dad had to live with the last few years of my mom's life when she developed the second stage. He knew I was most likely going to develop it young, like she did.

Right now, I'm in the first stage. I found out last year, just three days after my birthday. You've seen my symptopms. Mood swings, impulsive behavior, incoordination, suicidal thoughts, hypersexuality, all the fun stuff you got tired of dealing with.

By the time I get to the second stage, which could be years, months, _even days_ : I'll have trouble eating, and doing basic chores. Driving is out of the question.

I'm on borrowed time, Max. Since the day I found out, I knew, I was never going to get old. And that sucks, I know, but I knew I needed to have as full a life as possible, before I need help to piss by myself."

All the puzzle pieces started to click. The random mood changes, the depressive episodes, the aggressive attempts at love making, her daredevil lifestyle, it all made so much sense. "So your mom died from this?"

Dakota let out a dry chuckle. Her finger trailed patters on the bedspread. "Not exactly. She was in the first stage for a good 7 years or so, before she went into Stage 2. After she reached that stage, she was rarely seperate from my dad. The moments she was, she started writing. She could barely do it, but, remember, my dad still had to make money. I still had to go to school.

My dad's solution was to hire a nanny to take care of her. The nanny was good, but she had a long drive to our house. One day, she got held up by traffic. Turns out that before she developed Stage 2, Mom bought a revolver. I came home to find Mom with a bullet in her temple."

"Oh my God," Max replied. This time she didn't resist the urge to touch Dakota on the shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

Dakota shrugged it off. "Thanks. But that's why you always see my dad look at me like I'm some precious flower. It's why he let's me do whatever the fuck I want. He wants me to have the best life I can before I'm not able to."

"I'm sorry, Dakota. But that doesn't give you the excuse to hurt me or embarrass me."

"I know, Max. I'm going to make it up to you."

"Dakota, I don't think you get it. I don't think I want to be with you anymore."

Dakota didn't seem to be too upset by this. "I figured. But can we still be friends?"

Max had to think about it. Dakota had hurt her, that much was true, but she was still the kind girl she knew. Now, of course, she understood why she did the things she did. But she realizes she would never want to be romantically involved with that, but she could be friends. And selfishly, she wanted to keep her job.

"Of course."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," the two hugged gently. Both were grateful that the worst part of the conversation was over.

"Did you ever talk to Warren?"

Now it was Max's turn to look away. "Not exactly."

Dakota responded with a raised eyebrow. "And what does that mean, exactly?"

"It means I got on your XBox and overheard Warren tell Daniel that he's not allowed to talk to me. Oh, and that he likes me."

Dakota smiled. She seemed happy for her. "So what's the plan?"

"The plan? I can't even talk to him one on one."

"Well, how about the dance?"

"What about it?"

"Think about it, Max. I'll distract Brooke. With all the people there, it'll be hard for her to find you guys. You'll drag Warren over to a spot and talk to him."

"You would do that?" Max said eagerly. She couldn't help but feel a rush of hope and gratitude.

"Duh. Of course, I will. I owe you one anyway, and I know how much you like Warren."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I mean, I saw the way you looked at him during the spin the bottle game. I also saw how upset you were after he and Brooke kissed. I didn't plan on kissing you after that. It just kinda happened."

"It's okay. Can you really take me to the dance?"

"Yeah. It's invite only, and as you recall, Victoria brought me into the club last week. Brooke helped Taylor, I think, with a project and she got an invite. We can bring a plus-one. I'll bring you."

"I'm pretty sure the whole school is going to know that we're not together come tomorrow."

"So?" Dakota replied with the familiar gleam back in her eye. "You're Max freaking Caulfield and I'm Dakota freaking Reynolds. Nothing is gonna stop us from walking in there."

Max laughed and agreed. Finally she'll get the chance to tell Warren how she feels.

"You still mad at me, Max?"

"Yes," Dakota looked hurt.

"But not as much."

They smiled at each other.


	7. VI: Dance, Dance

**February 23rd, 2014**

 **7:26 p.m** _ **.**_

 _At least she_ _looks_ _nice in her dress,_ Warren thought darkly as Brooke filled her punch.

The two had arrived almost half an hour ago and had done all the things Brooke had wanted to do. They took the pictures, they danced some, they said hi to some of cast of the play Brooke did technical work for, and now they found themselves at the punch bowl.

Warren's assessment seemed correct. Brooke's dark red, almost maroon, dress fit her perfect. Her hair, in an elegant bun, complimented the look.

She had picked out Warren's outfit to every fabric. A black dress shirt with maroon tie, and black dress pants. Warren felt as if he were trying out to replace Billy Joe Armstrong circa American Idiot. He didn't say this out loud, for fear Brooke would infer he was making fun of her "special night".

Even though he's with Brooke, even though he got to say hi to Daniel, (the only somewhat enjoyable part of the evening), and even though he was virtually surrounded by people, Warren felt more alone than ever. He wasn't a praying man. Ordinarily, the thought would make him scoff at the idea, but he mentally prayed for some sort of salvation. Someone at this party had to interrupt.

It was at that moment, when Dakota walked straight into Brooke, a full solo cup of liquid in her hand.

"Holy shit!" Dakota yelled. "Brooke, I'm so sorry."

Brooke grimaced once the cold liquid hit her chest. Thankfully, not much had gotten on her. She had quickly scanned the area. She didn't find Max, fortunately. Maybe the rumor is true.

She forced a small smile, which probably resembled more of a grimace. "It's fine. Help me clean this shit up would you?"

"Y- Yeah, sure. Sure, I will. Yo, Warren?" she said turning to him. Warren could swear she turned her body to specifically block Brooke's view. "Can you fetch us from towels or something from the bathroom? That'd be wicked."

Then, she winked.

Warren was so taken aback by the wink, that he didn't even react. Until his eye caught Brooke's death glare that is.

"Y-yeah. Of course I can. Excuse me."

He turned away from the clean-up crew to push his way through the sweaty throng of teenagers dancing to the Top 40 music. It felt like wading through a desert storm to get to the oasis of the bathroom. Finally, he reached the door and shoved it open. He went over to a towel rack and collected a few towels before turning back to the door.

A rather unmanely sound escaped his throat when Warren caught sight of a very familiar girl standing in the way of the doorway.

"Hey, Dr. Graham," Max said. "We need to talk."

 **February 23rd, 2014**

 **7:14 p.m**

She was late; she knew it. Max had taken way too long deciding what she wanted to wear. Unlike others, Dakota and Max had not planned out an outfit together. Instead, Max had asked and gotten permission from Rachel to borrow one of her dresses. Rachel and Chloe had asked Max if her and Dakota wanted to go with them, but Max declined. Mostly because she knew she was going to take a while. And Chloe was really looking forward to party.

She finally decided on a simple black strapped dress that fell just beyond her knees. The dress was complimented by a cute white bow around the midsection. On her feet she just stuck with simple flats. She thought she looked hella cute. Hopefully, a certain someone else would think so.

After mentally confirming that, indeed, this was the dress she would wear, she quickly drove to pick up Dakota. Her ex-girlfiend wore a slightly bolder purple dress with a choker necklace. She also wore black flats. Surprisingly, she decided to leave her hair down. The first time all year.

"Hey, ex-girlfyfriend," Dakota said with a smile.

"Hey, yourself," Max replied with a matching grin. "You ready?"

"Born ready, sista. The only question is," she took Max's arm and simeltanously waved goodbye to her parents, "are you ready?"

Max wasn't sure how to answer as they got inside her car. Dakota looked up the directions to the party on her phone as Max started the car. "I'm not sure."

"What's wrong? You nervous?"

"Kinda." Max let out a deep sigh. "I can't but think. What happens if it doesn't work? What if I can't get him to talk to me?"

"Max," Dakota said while pulling a clear bottle of Gatorade out of her purse. "You have got to relax. You already know that the doofus likes you. The second he gets the chance, I'm sure he'll talk to you. Hell, he might even propose." She took a big swig of her Gatorade, cringed, then placed it back in her purse.

"Is that actually Gatorade?"

"Not exactly."

"Dakota…"

"I'm here for a good time, Max. Not a long time. As I was saying, you'll be fine. I'll find a way to distract Brooke, and you too can talk."

"I know, I know. I'm just anxious."

"I know you are. It's going to be fine. I'll use my superior popularity skills to get you in and get rid of Brooke."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"We'll pull a modern classic. I'll spill some sort of drink on Brooke while you hide in the bathroom. While Warren goes in to get towels or something, you can talk to him."

"That might work," Max said. She frowned in concentration.

"Uh, it's _gonna_ work. I swear on my dead turtle Fluffy. May he rest in shell."

"Fluffy?"

"I was five, Max. This is a judgement free zone."

"That might be," Max chuckled, "but I can't imagine you having a pet turtle."

"Imagine it. Believe it. Take a left here."

Max obliged before considering the directions. "Why aren't they just doing this party at Blackwell?"

"I dunno. Something about Nathan wanting to have a "better environment" or something. So, the party is being held in the Prescott Ballroom, hence why we have to dress nicely."

"Did you seriously just say 'hence?'"

"Yeah, no offense."

They laughed, "Okay, Shel Silverstein."

The girls continued to joke for the next few minutes. The light atmosphere inside the car helped pacify Max some. She was still shaking a little with nerves, but perhaps Dakota was right. Everything will be just fine.

After Max parked, she took a deep breath, then they walked to the entrance. The ballroom was extravagent on the outside, Max could only picture what the inside looked like.

The two lumbered their way inside. They found Courtney in a short dark blue dress that wrapped over her right shoulder and left her left shoulder bare.

"Hey Court-Court," Dakota addressed the popular girl.

"Hey, Dakota!" the Courtney returned cherrily. "And Max? I thought you two broke up after you kissed Eric-"

"We broke up before that," Dakota interjected with steel.

"Well, I just thought-"

"In speaking of thinking," Dakota cut in again, "I thought Victoria said I could bring a plus one. Max, obviously, is my plus one."

"Yeah, she said you bring a plus-one," Courtney answered. She seemed intimidated by Dakota's demenour.

"Cool," Dakota replied. She shot Courtney a smile that did not quite meet her eyes. "Ready Max?"

"As much as I can be," she replied meekly. "I like your dress, Courtney."

"Thanks," she muttered with a small smile.

After they escaped Courtney, they walked over to the main galla. There they saw the plethora of teenagers "dancing" to the music. It didn't take long for the girls to find the bathroom.

"Alright, Max. I'm going to try to find Brooke and Warren. When I do, I'll shoot you a text. Then, we'll commence Operation Ivy."

"Operation Ivy?"

"It's… A… band. Chloe would've gotten that reference. In fact, I wonder if she's here now…"

"Dakota!"

"Right! Focus! No worries, I'm focused! Got your phone on you?"

Max dug into her shoulder bag. She found her device in its familiar spot and produced it out for Dakota to see.

"Rad. Wait here."

Max did what she was told. The anxiety nearly bubbling inside her chest. Her heart pounding inside her throat.

Her phone's vibration nearly scared her out of her flats. She quickly opened the text to read:

 _Targets Located_

Ordinarily, Max would chuckle. But the silliness was not making its way into her sense of humor. She shoved open the bathroom door, prayed no one was in there, and hid in the small crevice between the wall and the door.

She felt ridiculous. Still, it occured to her this was the first time she could remember being inside a boys' bathroom. It would probably smell worse if it were the school's.

Were her arms sweating? Oh, they definitely were sweating.

All these thoughts and more ran through Max's head while she waited. It felt like only seconds when the door opened and Warren breezed through.

Max's breath hitched in her throat but she had to gain control quickly. She turned from her hiding spot and forcefully shut the door.

Warren turned and subconsciously dropped his towels when he noticed who was blocking his path.

"Hey, Dr. Graham," her heartbeat raced like a car at the Daytona, "we need to talk."

 **February 23rd, 2014**

 **7:30 p.m**

Warren swallowed. "Max, I really need to get back to Brooke bef-"

"I know you like me," Max felt herself outburst. The shock on Warren's face was evident.

"You do?"

"Yeah. I, uh, heard you on XBox last week. Sorry for eavesdropping and everything…"

"Max I-"

Max shook her head to clear her thoughts. _Just get to the point, Max._

"I mean, I need to tell you that I know you've been avoiding me because Brooke asked you to stay away from me. And that's so unfair. Because… Well, because…"

"Max, I-"

"Because I like you too!" she blurted.

Warren stared at Max. Mostly he was in relief, but he was also confused and angry. He wished he had known a lot sooner, but he wasn't angry at her. He was angry that fate had played them like a fiddle. He believed what she was saying without a doubt, but he couldn't believe it had taken them so long.

"How long have you liked me?" Why was he asking that? He wasn't sure.

"Remember when I didn't have that photo for Mr. Jefferson's class? I panicked and you calmed me down?" she smiled shyly at him.

"Yeah," he returned the gesture. "I took you to the park and showed you the stupid little treehouse my Dad and I made."

"Yeah." Max's smile grew into a full out grin. "I remember walking up there with you. The wind blew through your hair and you looked so content. I thought about you always being there for me even when I panicked about the silliest things. That's when I realized." Max paused for breath. It felt like a giant weight was being lifted off her chest with every word spoken. This had been something she had waited months to say.

"What about me?" she didn't care how eager she sounded.

The cheeky grin she had missed so much had returned to plaster his face. "It was the first time you helped me with a science project. You "borrowed" those lab coats and pulled some fake glasses out of your bag. You were just so smart and so… adorable. I couldn't help but like you."

Max unconsciously stepped closer to him. "Even though I was a klutz and broke those glasses mid-experiment?"

Warren returned the favor. "Especially because you're a klutz and broke the glasses."

She didn't know what else to say, but she didn't need to say anything. She stared deep into his eyes. She took a step closer.

"I like your dress," he whispered. She was so close she could smell his cologne. She could hear her heart beating like a drum in her ears.

Her hand reached up. The pad of her thumb glazed gently over his smooth cheek as her fingers tucked under his chin. "I like your face."

All thoughts of Brooke were forgotten. All thoughts except for her were forgotten.

They leaned in.

And that's when the door opened.

* * *

 **Ten points to whoever can get the painfully obvious reference.**

 **I split the chapter in two because I'm evil.**


	8. VII: Hell Breaks Loose

**February 23rd, 2014**

 **7:34 p.m.**

"What is taking so lon-?" Brooke shoved the door open, a very pissed off expression on her face. Dakota was trailing close behind her, a guarded expression on her face.

Then, Brooke caught the sight of Max and Warren in a compromising position. Instantly, she rushed to seperate them. "What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing?"

Warren sputtered to find an excuse. "I was- I was just trying- I-"

Brooke had had enough. She sidestepped Max and delivered a bone chilling slap to his face. Max was certain that everyone from four towns over could hear the impact.

"You forced my hand," she spat at Warren. She turned to Max. If looks could kill, Max would be pushing up daises. "This is all your fault."

Max closed her eyes as she prepared for whatever onslaught that was going to happen. Warren wanted to help Max, but his vision was still blurry from Brooke's stunning slap.

Luckily, there was still one other person in the room. Unfortunately for Brooke, that one person would be Dakota.

She was done watching her friends be abused by this girl. As Brooke attempted to hurt Max, Dakota stepped in. With a satisfying _smack!,_ Dakota layed out Brooke with a sickening punch. The force of the punch knocked Brooke to the ground and her purse's contents scattered to the ground.

Warren's vision recovered just enough to see the items on the floor. His eyes found the flash drive. He forcefully dropped his heel on the little drive, shattering it to pieces.

At this point, Brooke recovered enough to lash out at her new nemesis Dakota. All hell had broken loose.

Warren felt a hand fall into his own. Unconsciously, he laced fingers with the unknown person. Unsurprisingly, it was Max.

"Let's go!" she said urgently. The irises of her beautiful blue eyes were wide open with the danger of the situation. He let himself be half-dragged away from the bathroom.

Then, he found himself running. Running through the crowd of shocked people. Running through the back door of the ball room. Running through the cool night. Running under the full moon in the sky. Running right behind the most beautiful girl he had ever known.

He felt her slow down, and subconsciously he followed suit.

Their breathing was haggard. But they were here now. Because of Dakota, Warren know understood, they were here together under the stars.

Max subtly squeezed his hand. She started walking over to a tree nearby. Warren silently followed. He felt his adrenaline slowly seeping away. He felt himself winding down.

"Wanna sit?" Max asked quietly. Her ears still rang from the thumping bass of the music inside and from the sound of Warren's cheek being slapped. She was afraid Warren might not hear her.

"Sure," he replied in the same tone. He unbottoned his dress shirt and laid it down on the ground as a makeshift blanket. Max let him. It probably wouldn't be good to get grass stains on Rachel's dress.

They sat on the seemingly tiny shirt. "Is your cheek okay?"

"I think so." Max's hand touched his red cheek. Her hand felt cool to the touch. It felt soothing. She wore a look of worry on her face. Warren felt his heart soar. He was not used to this feeling. He definitely was not used to a look of concern on someone else's face, especially someone he cared so much for. He couldn't remember a time when Brooke worried about how he felt.

"Your ear's bleeding," she said cooly. She undid his tie and held it up to his ear. "It's already red," she joked, referring to his tie.

"Yes it is," he chuckled. He raised his left hand to her wrist and held it. He silently stroked her knuckles as she held the tie to his ear.

"I'm sorry what happened back there. I just wanted to talk to you."

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault Brooke went off the deep end."

"I know. I still felt the need to. Why was she so adament you stay away from me?"

"If it's all the same to you, Max," he grimaced. "I don't want to talk about Brooke right now."

"I understand." Max internally cursed herself for her nosiness. If Warren were an ordinary person, her curiosity would have ruined the moment. But Warren was extraordinary.

"You know," Max said to change the topic. Since they sat down, her eyes never left his. She shot him a small smile. She hoped it would relax him a bit. "This was my first dance. Ever."

"Really? Mine too," he couldn't help but chuckle. "How was it?"

"It was okay. I never actually got to dance."

"Well, we'll have to change that." Warren shifted to stand up, leaving Max holding his tie.

"What do you mean?"

"C'mon," he motioned with his hand for her to stand. "I'll be your first dance."

Finally realizing what he had in mind, Max grinned and followed suit. On a whim, she placed up the tie up and over her head and around her neck. She probably looked ridiculous, but right now, she didn't care.

She stood up, her grin still plastered on her face, and wrapped her arms over his neck. He matched her smile as he put his hands on her hips. The pain in his cheek forgotten.

They slowly sashayed. They didn't need music. They were perfectly in rythm with each other.

And there, next to the tree and under the light of trillions of stars, they fell for each other more and more with every movement. There was a spark in the air. A subtle shift in the dynamic of Max and Warren that each of them understood.

"Do you mind if I-?"

"I'd be offended if you didn't."

They could have sworn the stars burned brighter when their lips met.

* * *

 **I didn't plan on releasing this chapter til tomorrow but I felt really inspired. So... sue me. Anyway, one last epilogue chapter to go and then this story is done. Finished. And other synonyms.**

 **The next story I'll do is more... Experimental? Not to worry, it'll still be set in the LiS universe, but it won't be about Max and Warren. Not that I don't like writing them anymore. Quite the contrary actually, I love writing them. But honestly, I'm out of ideas.**

 **See ya at the epilogue.**


	9. Epilogue: The End of the Beginning

**February 23rd, 2014**

 **7:37 p.m.**

It was magic. The feeling of her lips on his, her fingers swirling into his hair, it was bliss. It was everything and nothing like the kisses shared with him and Brooke. Physically, it was the same sensations, the same cause and effects.

Emotionally and mentally, it was a whole different mix. It was like soaring. Like flicking off the universe for sticking him with Brooke.

If she could, Max would kiss him forever. The soft curve of his lips, that smile. She could stand here under the stars. She could forever hold onto him, forever smell his smell and taste his taste.

Then, of course, reality cuts in. Max's phone in her shoulder bag went off. Hesitantly, the two lovebirds broke their kiss.

"You should probably answer that," Warren said. Each of them were reluctant to part, but, they each sent the other a goofy grin as Max dug into her phone.

"Hey," she said into the speaker upon answering.

"Where the hell are you, Max?"

"I'm with Warren," she said. She couldn't help but blissfully smile at him as she said so.

"Congradulations," Chloe answered sarcastically. "That doesn't answer my question, Maximus. Where are you?"

"Oh," Max replied quietly. The seriousness of the situation suddenly hit her. "There was a fight in the bathroom. Warren and I took off from the back and went to this tree."

"I already know about the fight. I'm with Dakota now. Get your scrawny asses back here."

With that, Chloe hung up. She didn't sound pissed, just serious. Still, Warren looked at Max. "Is there a problem?"

Max shrugged. "Probably something with Brooke. We should head back."

Warren nodded and held out his hand. Smiling goofily, Max took it. They walked hand in hand back to the dance.

They leisured along slowly. Neither of them wanting to hurry back to the chaos of the party. They stayed silent until Warren felt the need to apologize. "I'm really sorry for how that ended in there. If Brooke had done something…"

"I know, Warren," she interrupted quietly. "I'd rather not have it end as violently as it did. But I'm glad it ended like it did." She squeezed his hand and he knew what she meant.

"How's your face by the way?"

"Better. Still, stings a little."

"Here, I can help that." Max stretched up on her tip toes and kissed Warren's cheek lightly. He rolled his eyes, but his smile betrayed his happiness.

"I hope Dakota's okay," Max spluttered.

"I'm sure she is," Warren answered distractedly. "You know the main reason I had to avoid you?"

"Why?"

"She blackmailed me. She took pictures of you during the Christmas Eve party and threatened to ruin your career. Maybe even get you arrested."

A hatred burned through Max. She'd never hated someone this harshly. Not Victoria, not her posse, not even her middle school bullies. Frankly, she'd be scared that Brooke would have that effect on her if she wasn't so pissed at her. Still, Max _really_ didn't want to deal with her.

"What are we gonna do about her?"

"Hopefully nothing tonight."

"Yeah," Max agreed. "Let's hope she left or something."

"Let's."

The two of them started to see the Prescott Ballroom in the distance. Subconsciously, they slowed down. Both of them still needed to talk about a few things.

"So, what are you doing after we graduate?" Warren asked hesitantly.

Max thought for a second. "I'm thinking about following Rachel's example. Mr. Jefferson offered me to be his apprentice while Nathan goes off to Oregon University."

"So you're gonna be a fifth year senior?"

"Pretty much. My classes with Mr. Jefferson are for college credits. I'll have to take other classes too, but the most important is Mr. Jefferson's."

"Cool! I'm happy for you, Max."

"Me too," she shot him a grin, which he returned."What about you? What's Big Brain Warren gonna do?"

Warren sighed. It wasn't a sigh of stress, it was more a reactionary sigh to that particular question. "My mom and dad are making me apply for Harvard and Yale. You know, all the Ivy Leagues. I don't really want Ivy League though."

"Well," she answered with a playful shove. "What do you want?"

"Well, I want to teach. You don't know this, because of the whole Brooke thing, but around the beginning of the year, my mom set me up to tutor our neighbor's kid. I loved it."

"Awe," Max said. She squeezed his hand and Warren returned the gesture.

"Yeah, it was one of the few things that kept me sane during that period. I'm hoping Normal University in Newburg will accept me. I'll be a Chemistry teacher or professor. If push comes to shove, I'll be a chemist."

"Well I," they stopped in front of the back entrance of the ballroom. The thumping music assaulted their eardrums, even from the outside. Max stopped and put her hands on his chest. "Think that you would be an excellent professor. Truly Dr. Graham."

"How will I be able to do any experiments without my assistant?"

Max pouted playfully. "But I'll always be your assistant."

"Yes, you will."

The two shared a chaste kiss before Warren motioned with his head. "We should probably get in there."

"Yeah," Max replied whistfully. "We probably should."

Warren swung the door open and they were blasted by by sound. Chloe and Rachel stood looking irritated.

"There you two are," Rachel said.

"Are you wearing his tie?" Chloe asked

"Did you two-?" Rachel wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"No!" They both protested.

"We're wasting time," Chloe said irritably. "Are we still going to the Two Whales?"

"Yeah," Max nodded.

Warren shrugged. Guess he'll go to the Two Whales.

"Dakota's joining us by the way," Rachel added.

"Cool," Max said. "Where is she?"

"Getting ice for her eye. Brooke caught her good."

It was just after that sentence that Dakota slung her arms over Rachel and Chloe, an ice pack in her hand. "Hey girls. Warren. What are we talking about?"

"You're coming with us to the Two Whales right?" Rachel turned to Dakota with a smile.

"Duh!" she answered. It was clear to Warren and Max that Dakota had been injured in her and Brooke's fight. Her eye was swollen and her bottom lip had been cut. Still, she was smiling.

"I know what you two are thinking. Yes, Brooke is still here. I left her sitting on the toilet like she's taking a massive shit."

Max groaned at the imagery, while Warren chuckled. Rachel spoke up, her midnight blue gown sparkling in the light. She reached behind her and unclipped the pins holding her hair in the bun. Her hair fell down her shoulders as Chloe crossed her arms. "We'll take Dakota with us. We'll see you guys at the Two Whales, okay?"

After agreeing, the trio of girls left the party. Max turned to Warren, "How did you get here?"

"Brooke and I took a limo. Can you take me?"

"Of course. Let's go."

"What about Brooke?" Warren thought out loud.

Max impulsively answered, "She's smart enough to figure out her own way home."

"I think I like this evil side of you," Warren muttered seductively.

"You should see all my other sides."

They each smiled, despite the ridiculousness of their flirting, and took each other's hand. They waded through the mass of sweaty, fancily dressed teenagers to the parking lot. Before they could make it out, they were confronted by a pale girl with short blonde hair in a white dress.

"Max and Warren, huh?"

"What do you want, Victoria?" Max squinted her eyes, expecting menace from the bully.

"Nothing. But it's about fucking time you two nerds got together. Brooke was way too much for you Warren, and Dakota is way too pretty for you Max."

"Hey!" Warren and Max simultaneously protested.

Victoria answered with a smirk. "Ciao, losers. I have a boyfriend to attend to." With that, Victoria lightly passed them.

"She can be such a bitch," Max muttered as they made their way out to Max's car.

"Tell me about it. I hope for your sake she doesn't stay to be a fifth year senior," Warren replied.

"God, I hope not."

They each got in the car. Max put it in gear and she started to drive to the resteraunt. Warren helped her with directions. It didn't take long before they parked at the Two Whales. They took each other's hands as they walked in.

Chloe and Rachel sat on the opposite booth in murmered discussion. Dakota sat on a chair at the end of the booth. When the new couple walked in, Dakota and Rachel shot her matching smiles while Chloe sent her a sort of grimace, half-smirk.

As they sat in the booth with their friends, each of the two teenagers pondered themselves and their future.

Max thinks about all the steps that led to them being together. She learned through Dakota what being in a relationship was like. She learned the hard way that there has to be sacrifices in a relationship. She can only thank the universe for giving her someone as kind and as passionate as Warren.

Her feelings of him were an entierely different animal then her feelings for Dakota. There was a lightness in her chest. It's a free feeling, almost like falling.

As she looks at two of her favorite people, Chloe and Rachel, she deep down had always felt a little envious of their relationship. She would have never admitted it out loud, but she had always longed for the kind of dynamic they shared. Even if Chloe was frowning into Rachel's phone while Rachel talked to Dakota, the years that Chloe and Rachel had spent together had created a bond that Max only wish she could have.

As she squeezed his hand, Max wasn't sure if there was any way to describe how deeply she felt. She was wise enough to know, however, that they were going to make mistakes. There were going to be fights, some struggle. But if they could get together through this, they could survive anything.

At her side, there's Warren. When he woke up that morning, he had guessed by this time, he was being forced into making love to a person he did not love. Now, he was holding the hand of the girl he always wanted. He didn't know that he could have so many feelings for someone. It scares him, yet it excites his every being.

Because, after all, we all have a story. For Max and Warren, thier story is far from over. It's only just beginning.

And it all started, when one of them chose to speak.

* * *

 **Hey all, this is the end of Speak. Max and Warren are together! Hurray!**

 **I'm going to start writing the next story soon. As for now, it's untitled, but it'll be a more experimental story. However, it will take place in this same AU and Dakota will appear again, but she'll have a less important role.**

 **Anyway, I can't wait to get started. Thank you for reading and everyone who left a review!**

 **HUF**


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